https://www.nbcnews.com/news/amp/ncna1275871Missouri's governor has pardoned the husband-wife couple who drew national headlines last summer for waving guns at Black Lives Matter protesters.
Patricia and Mark McCloskey were listed among 10 other pardons and two commutations announced by Republican Gov. Mike Parson on Friday.
The couple were photographed and recorded brandishing a semiautomatic gun and a pistol at the peaceful protesters as they passed by their mansion in St. Louis in June 2020.
In May, Mark McCloskey announced his campaign for the Republican nomination for U.S. senator from Missouri.
He told Fox News host Tucker Carlson about his decision to run: "God came knocking on my door last summer disguised as an angry mob, and it really did wake me up." Patricia and Mark McCloskey were first charged with felonies but later pleaded guilty to misdemeanor charges in a deal announced shortly after Mark McCloskey announced his candidacy for the U.S. Senate.
Immediately after the plea deal, Mark McCloskey said he would "do it again."
Armed homeowners Mark and Patricia McCloskey stand in front of their house as protesters march to then-St. Louis Mayor Lyda Krewson's house in the Central West End of St. Louis, on June 28, 2020.