The lawyer who was pardoned for pointing a gun at Black Lives Matter protesters in St. Louis is suing to get his firearms back

• The St. Louis couple who brandished guns at BLM protesters last summer are suing for their firearms.
• Mark and Patricia McCloskey pleaded guilty to misdemeanor charges and surrendered the weapons.
• But Mark McCloskey said in a lawsuit he wants his guns back, now that Missouri's governor pardoned him.

Mark McClosky, the St. Louis lawyer who was photographed last summer pointing guns at Black Lives Matter protesters marching down his private street, filed a lawsuit Wednesday to get his weapons back.

McClosky and his wife, Patricia McCloskey, both pleaded guilty in June to misdemeanor charges and agreed to surrender their weapons.

But Missouri's Republican Gov. Mike Parson pardoned the couple on August 3. That prompted Mark McClosky to argue in his lawsuit that he was absolved "of all wrongdoing," and therefore his firearms should be returned.

"There is no just basis or right for the State of Missouri to possess the above-referenced firearms or to retain the above-referenced funds," the lawsuit argued, demanding that two guns be returned to the couple, along with nearly $900 in fines they paid.

The couple made national headlines after they were seen on the lawn outside their home on June 28, 2020, amid a racial justice protest just weeks after the death of George Floyd. Mark McClosky was clutching a semiautomatic .223-caliber rifle, while Patricia McClosky wielded a semiautomatic pistol.

The couple later said they were brandishing their weapons because they felt threatened by the protesters, who had marched down their private street, known as Portland Place, en route to the mayor's house.

Neither of the McCloskeys opened fire on the protesters, and no one was injured in the confrontation. But Special Prosecutor Richard Callahan argued that aiming the guns at the protesters was unreasonable and dangerous, given that none of them were armed, nor had any of them realized they had marched through private property.

Though the couple were originally charged with felonies, the charges were eventually downgraded to misdemeanors, meaning neither will lose their law license or their right to own firearms.

Patricia McClosky ultimately pleaded guilty to misdemeanor harassment and was fined $2,000, while Mark McClosky pleaded guilty to misdemeanor fourth-degree assault and was fined $750.

Mark McClosky told media after his guilty plea that he'd "do it again" and has been unapologetic about the incident.

"Any time the mob approaches me, I'll do what I can to put them in imminent threat of physical injury because that's what kept them from destroying my house and my family," he said.

Mark McClosky is now running for a US Senate seat. Neither he, nor Patricia McClosky, immediately responded to Insider's request for comment.

Several prominent Republicans, including former President Donald Trump, have spoken out in favor of the couple. Trump called their prosecution "a disgrace," while Parson had promised for more than a year to grant them pardons if the prosecution went forward.