Couple of St. Louis who was known to carry a gun as racial justice protesters marched through the house will not return the weapons or refund the fines, a judge has ruled.
Mark McCloskey, who ran unsuccessfully for an open state Senate seat last year, and his wife, Patricia McCloskey, were pardoned in August 2021 by GOP Gov. Mike Parson of Missouri.
The McCloskeys previously pleaded guilty to misdemeanor charges of assault and harassment in a 2020 confrontation. The couple turned over a Colt AR-15 rifle and a Bryco .380-caliber pistol to authorities as part of a plea agreement. But Mark McCloskey later posed, smiling, in a photo on social media with his new AR-15.
Mark McCloskey sued to take the firearms confiscated – and to refund $872.50 fine after the couple’s pardon.
But Circuit Judge Joan Moriarty dismissed the suit on Wednesday, ruling that the couple was “required to follow through on the deal” despite the pardon, The St. John’s reported. Louis Post-Dispatch.
“When the governor’s pardon is not clear the plaintiff’s record of conviction, the guilt remains, and the terms of the predicated agreement say the guilt also remains,” Moriarty added.
The attorney received just 3% of the vote in last year’s Senate GOP primary race against Missouri Attorney General Eric Schmitt.