The St. Louis couple Mark and Patricia McCloskey have gained notoriety in Republican circles after getting caught on camera threatening peaceful protesters with guns earlier this year. The McCloskeys each faced one felony criminal charge of unlawful use of a weapon, and although in any truly sane political environment, a major political party would stay away from people who’d violently threatened protesters and then faced criminal charges over their behavior, the Republican National Convention (RNC) hosted the duo as speakers this week. During a subsequent appearance on Fox, Mark actually admitted that the couple hadn’t been handling their weapons safely — which really underlines the ridiculousness of it all.
Fox Business after co-host Dagan McDowell posed the question:
‘Speaking to Second Amendment advocates and firearms instructors, they actually were concerned for you as you were seen flagging one another with your firearms and exhibiting poor muzzle control. Are you doing that?’
Indeed — in images of the original incident, the two of them at times pointed their guns at each other while waving them around. Patricia’s gun seemingly wasn’t operable at the time, but Mark’s was.
Mark replied by uneasily trying to shift blame for the poor gun handling onto his wife. He said:
‘Yeah. Patty is a complete neophyte when it comes to the firearms. I grew up around firearms. But once again, when you’re in a desperate situation, that’s why training is important… We were at a rally in Dallas last week, and one of the participants was a sheriff, and while I was making a presentation, I looked over to him and said, Mr. Sheriff, sir, have you ever seen worse gun handling in your life?’
During that last part, Mark pointed at Patricia, making clear who he was talking about — and that he’s strangely reluctant to admit errors on his own part. Check out the video below:
Notably, during his appearance on Fox Business, Mark also yet again reiterated his defense for his original behavior. He said that waving the guns at the protesters “had to do with just protecting our lives and our property from an angry mob that we had every right to expect would do us harm.” Previously, speaking to local media shortly after the original incident, Mark claimed that he was “terrified that we’d be murdered within seconds, our house would be burned down, our pets would be killed.” His comments are so ridiculous that it’s almost laughable. The McCloskeys sound like they live in a world of conservative paranoia where just about every mildly protest-oriented group suddenly becomes an existential threat to truth, justice, and the American way.
