A Missouri appeals court has upheld a request to seal the criminal records of two St. Louis lawyers who pointed guns at protesters marching on their street in June 2020.
Tuesday's ruling by a three-judge panel of the Court of Appeals for the Eastern District may allow Mark McCloskey to regain possession of two firearms he surrendered as part of his plea deal.
McCloskey and his wife Patricia pleaded guilty to misdemeanors in 2021 for the incident, which occurred during protests over the killing of George Floyd. A group of marchers had entered the gated Portland Place in the Central West End in an attempt to protest in front of the house of then-Mayor Lyda Krewson.
Viral photos showed Mark McCloskey holding a Colt AR-15 rifle, while Patricia stood next to him with a smaller pistol. The couple claimed self-defense — Mark McCloskey was quoted as saying, "I was terrified we would be murdered within seconds."
Former Gov. Mike Parson pardoned the couple in August 2021. Mark McCloskey immediately sued to get the guns back. But courts ruled that although a pardon eliminates a conviction, it does not "extinguish his guilt or the consequences flowing from his guilty plea."
The McCloskeys last year filed petitions for expungement. A judge granted the request on June 5, 2024; under Missouri law, the couple regained all rights that had been restricted by their criminal record. Tuesday's ruling upheld that decision over the objection of prosecutors, who said the couple remained a threat to public safety.
Mark McCloskey has a second suit pending to have the guns returned. That case was paused while the question of expungement worked its way through the courts.
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