There was "no crime committed at all" when Mark and Patricia McCloskey stood outside their St. Louis mansion, holding guns and confronting protesters who were going past their home in June, as they were protecting their property, Judge Andrew Napolitano said Tuesday.
"They were not brandishing them for an unlawful purpose, but for a lawful purpose, one of protecting their property," Napolitano, the judicial analyst for Fox News, said on "America's Newsroom." "Their street is a private street, private property, owned collectively by the neighborhood association. The mayor lives on that street, which was the stated goal of the demonstrators.
On Monday, St. Louis Circuit Attorney Kim Gardner charged the McCloskeys, both attorneys in their 60s, with felony charges of unlawful use of a weapon and misdemeanor charges of fourth-degree assault. She said their actions risked creating a violent situation during a nonviolent protest, but Missouri's governor said he'd pardon the couple if they are convicted and Attorney General Eric Schmitt said Tuesday he'll challenge the charges.
"We have a public prosecutor who wants to make some political statement and I guess the only way around this is for the attorney general to dismiss it," said Napolitano, adding that because of the state's castle doctrine laws that allow property owners to defend their land and homes, "it's not even a crime."
"The fact that she brought these charges is very concerning," said Napolitano. "It has broad implications not only for them but for Missourians."
Further, said Napolitano, because the McCloskeys are attorneys, the fact that the charges were filed could jeopardize their right to practice law.
Sandy Fitzgerald ✉
Sandy Fitzgerald has more than three decades in journalism and serves as a general assignment writer for Newsmax covering news, media, and politics.
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