New Prosecutor Assigned to McCloskey Case

By Mark Chesnut

Things have been rather quiet concerning the ongoing case against Mark and Patricia McCloskey, the St. Louis couple who stood in their yard with a rifle and pistol to defend their home in a gated private neighborhood against a large, unruly crowd last June.

But, just last week the case made headlines again as a St. Louis judge appointed a new special prosecutor in the case. Richard Callahan, the U.S. attorney in St. Louis from 2010 to 2017, has been appointed to handle the prosecution.

Before we get to that, however, let’s look back at how we got here. A few months back, George Soros-funded Circuit Attorney Kimberly Gardner was disqualified from the case because of the political charade she had made of the entire situation.

Thomas Clark II, the St. Louis circuit judge hearing the case, dismissed Gardner, citing two campaign fundraising emails around the time she filed felony gun charges against the couple in July. “In short, the Circuit Attorney’s conduct raises the appearance that she initiated a criminal prosecution for political purposes,” Clark wrote.

For his part, Callahan has said he will handle the case with an open mind.

“I am going to approach it the same way I’ve done anything in the last 49 years — start with a blank slate, follow the evidence and see where it takes me,” the 73-year-old Callahan told St. Louis Today.

Hopefully, Callahan’s close look at the evidence will see the case for what it truly is and has always been—a politically motivated lynching concocted to make an example of the McCloskey’s. In fact, from the very first, the facts were stacked against the original charge of unlawful use of a weapon.

Recall that from the very beginning of the case, many in government—all the way up to then-President Donald Trump—had called for no prosecution in the situation. Soon after news of the charges became public, Missouri Attorney General Eric Schmitt quickly filed a brief seeking to dismiss Gardner’s charges against the McCloskeys on the grounds that their Second Amendment rights are being violated.

“The right to keep and bear arms is given the highest level of protection in our constitution and our laws, including the Castle Doctrine, which provides broad rights to Missourians who are protecting their property and lives from those who wish to do them harm,” Schmitt said in a prepared statement. “Despite this, Circuit Attorney Gardner filed suit against the McCloskeys, who, according to published reports, were defending their property and safety. As Missouri’s Chief law enforcement officer, I won’t stand by while Missouri law is being ignored.”

Missouri, in fact, has a very strong Castle Doctrine law, as well as a strong Stand Your Ground law. We can only hope Callahan considers those laws when making the decision whether to continue with the McCloskeys’ prosecution.

Freelance writer and editor Mark Chesnut is the owner/editorial director at Red Setter Communications LLC. An avid hunter, shooter and political observer, he has been covering Second Amendment issues and politics on a near-daily basis for the past 20 years.