A husband and wife who brandished guns when protesters walked through their St. Louis neighborhood will be speaking in Durant.
Mark and Patricia McCloskey will be the keynote speakers for the Bryan County chapter of the Oklahoma Second Amendment Association (OK2A) meeting at 5:30 p.m. Sept. 10 at Fairview Baptist Church, 1200 University Boulevard.
The Southeastern College Republicans are also hosting the McCloskeys at 12:30 p.m. Sept. 10 in Montgomery Auditorium.
The McCloskeys gained national attention when they brandished firearms as protesters marched through a private neighborhood in St. Louis on June 28, 2020, during the George Floyd protests.
Mr. McCloskey was armed with an AR-15 rifle and Mrs. McCloskey had a pistol. The couple was shown in photographs pointing the guns at the protesters.
The Associated Press reported that the McCloskeys said they felt threatened by the protesters who were on the way to the mayor’s home nearby where they planned to demonstrate. The couple also said the protesters were trespassing on private property.
Both were later charged and Mr. McCloskey pleaded guilty to misdemeanor fourth-degree assault and Mrs. McCloskey pleaded guilty to misdemeanor harassment. The original charges were felony unlawful use of a weapon until they pleaded guilty to the reduced charges.
No shots were fired during the incident and Missouri Gov. Mike Parson pardoned both of them in 2021.