- Mark McCloskey, who along with his wife was pictured brandishing their firearms in front of their home in St. Louis, claimed his "life has been ruined" after he fell victim to what he described as "terrorism."
- "What's the definition of terrorism? To use violation and intimidation to frighten the public," McCloskey said during a CNN interview on Tuesday. "That's what was happening that night, that's what happened to me — that's the damage I suffered."
- In a separate interview on Fox News, McCloskey disputed the claims that he was opposed to the Black Lives Matter movement and added that "my Black clients love us."
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Mark McCloskey, a 63-year-old personal injury attorney, and 61-year-old attorney Patricia McCloskey were pictured on Sunday with an assault rifle and a handgun, respectively, as protesters march through their neighborhood.
Mark McCloskey, who appeared on CNN's "Prime Time" with host Chris Cuomo on Tuesday, said "my life has been ruined" after the picture of him and his wife had gone viral and said he fell victim to what he described as "terrorism."
The group of protesters broke through the fence of a gated community and entered a private street, where they demonstrated against Mayor Lyda Krewson, who lives in an adjacent neighborhood. Krewson, a Democrat, had attracted criticism from activists for outing the names of those who called for the defunding of police.
"They were coming at us until I displayed the weapon, and that's what stopped them," McCloskey said, adding that one of the protesters had brandished two pistols and told him, "you're next."
McCloskey described the actions of the protesters as "social intimidation" and a form of terrorism.
"What's the definition of terrorism? To use violation and intimidation to frighten the public," McCloskey said. "That's what was happening that night, that's what happened to me — that's the damage I suffered."
McCloskey added that it was "completely ridiculous" to claim he was opposed to the Black Lives Matter movement, which recently conducted protests throughout the country in the wake of George Floyd's death.
"I'm not the face of anything opposing the Black Lives Matter movement," McCloskey said. "I was a person scared for my life, who was protecting my wife, my home, my hearth, my livelihood. I was a victim of a mob that came through the gate. I didn't care what color they were, I didn't care what their motivation was. I was frightened, I was assaulted, and I was in imminent fear that they would run me over, kill me, burn my house."
McCloskey's own attorney, Albert Watkins, said that "every ... old white man like me needs to listen and hear the message of Black Lives Matter."
In a separate interview on Fox News, McCloskey added that "my Black clients love us."
"The night that this happened, I had some of our Black clients calling us up till 2:30 in the morning, telling us how wrong it was, the way the press was writing this up," McCloskey said.
Following the incident, St. Louis Circuit Attorney Kimberly Gardner said her office was investigating whether the personal injury attorneys broke the law by brandishing their firearms.
"My office is currently working with the public and police to investigate these events," she said in a statement. "Make no mistake: we will not tolerate the use of force against those exercising their First Amendment rights, and will use the full power of Missouri law to hold people accountable."
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