Mark McCloskey, a St. Louis man who pointed a weapon at protesters on a private street, is claiming he is the victim and that he was “in imminent fear they would run me over, kill me,” or so he told CNN.
McCloskey, who owns a home on a private street in St. Louis, claimed that protesters who were demonstrating against St. Louis Mayor Lyda Krewson broke through a private gate and threatened to kill him and his dogs and burn his house down.
“I was a person scared for my life, protecting my wife, my home, my hearth, my livelihood. I was a victim of a mob that came through the gate,” McCloskey told CNN.
Video and photos show McCloskey armed with a long rifle and his wife, who had a handgun, outside their home on Sunday pointing the weapons at protesters.
The protesters were trying to make their way to Krewson’s residence, which is near where the McCloskey’s live, although McCloskey said that the mayor’s house could not be reached through his neighborhood.
Krewson has been subject to backlash after the mayor read the names and addresses of those demanding police reform, something she has since apologized for insisting that she didn’t mean any harm.
McCloskey faced criticism and accusations that he was not for the Black Lives Matter movement, which he called “ridiculous.”
“I didn’t care what color they were. I didn’t care what their motivation was,” he said. “I was frightened. I was assaulted.”
“My clients are completely behind and endorsed the message of BLM,” said Albert S. Watkins, McCloskey’s attorney. “What they are not capable of doing is embracing the abject utilization of that noble message—that we all need to hear over and over and over again—as a license to rape, rob, pillage, bowl over all of our rights.”