Couple armed with rifle & handgun defend their mansion as BLM protesters crash into wealthy St. Louis neighborhood

RT
Mon, 29 Jun 2020 17:49 UTC

© Twitter

A man and a woman have been filmed brandishing guns at protesters who swarmed at the edge of their property, after a group of Black Lives Matter activists crashed the gates into a rich neighborhood in St. Louis, Missouri.

Multiple videos of the altercation went viral online, with the couple earning praise for "standing their ground," as well as criticism for "mishandling" their guns and "threatening peaceful protesters."

While none of the videos show anyone actually trespassing on their property, some of the activists were standing at the edge of the lawn, recording the couple while some reportedly were taunting them, saying, "eat the rich."

The couple shouted at the protesters, ordering them to leave their property, while at times pointing their guns at the crowd.

The group of protesters apparently crashed the gate into the neighborhood, as the incident took place on a private street, Portland Place, according to the St. Louis Post-Dispatch.

© Google Maps

The 'private property' sign in front of the neighborhood invaded by protesters

© @sethweathers/Twitter

"According to the media, this is how protesters "peacefully" enter a neighborhood."

The crowd then proceeded to rally outside of Mayor Lyda Krewson's house, pushing through police barricades to the yard and the front porch, and painted the word 'RESIGN' on the street outside the house.

Protesters are demanding her resignation in part for publicly revealing the names of several Black Lives Matter activists behind calls to defund police and close a local jail. Demonstrators have been marching in St. Louis for weeks as part of nationwide protests against police brutality and racism, triggered by the death of George Floyd at the hands of police.

Comment: Locals station KMOV4 interviewed the couple:

"It was like the storming of the Bastille, the gate came down and a large crowd of angry, aggressive people poured through," Mark McCloskey said. "I was terrified that we'd be murdered within seconds. Our house would be burned down, our pets would be killed."

Mark said they called 911 and grabbed their guns as they heard the crowd approaching their private, gated community on Portland Place.

The wrought iron gates of Portland Place were damaged on Sunday. Protesters marched to Lyda Krewson house demanding her resignation.

Mark McCloskey

"A mob of at least 100 smashed through the historic wrought iron gates of Portland Place, destroying them, rushed towards my home where my family was having dinner outside and put us in fear for our lives," Mark McCloskey said, and shared photos of the destroyed gate.

Despite his claims, video circulating on social media shows protesters opening and walking through the unbroken gate. It is unclear when it was actually damaged or who destroyed it.

The couple also claims to have received death threats from the crowd.

"One fellow standing right in front of me pulled out two pistol magazines, clicked them together and said you're next. That was the first death threat we got that night," Mark McCloskey said.

In a separate statement from their attorney, the McCloskeys said they support the Black Lives Matter movement and that "peaceful protesters were not the subject of scorn or disdain by the McCloskeys. To the contrary, they were expecting and supportive of the message of the protesters," the statement reads.

Gateway Pundit reports:

After a video of them defending their property was posted to Twitter, people began calling for their names, address, and businesses to posted online — which they were.

Someone identify these people. I don't know the area. Get an address. I'll help.

Sue them, ruin their businesses, help their employees sabotage their capital, call their kids, call their family members, call their country club — use capitalism for the weapon it's designed to be.

— kyle rezac-dennis (@krezacdennis) June 29, 2020

"Someone identify these people. I don't know the area. Get an address. I'll help," a Twitter user named Kyle Rezac-Dennis tweeted. "Sue them, ruin their businesses, help their employees sabotage their capital, call their kids, call their family members, call their country club — use capitalism for the weapon it's designed to be."

Within minutes, the couple's names, businesses and address were posted to the platform. The Gateway Pundit has opted not to publish that information.

@krezadennis has since deleted his account, after a Twitter backlash which included his own doxxing, and the dredging up of tweets supporting pedophilia.