Gun-toting St. Louis couple Mark and Patricia McCloskey exploit white fear and grievances in RNC speech by claiming Democrats will bring 'crime and lawlessness' into 'thriving' suburban neighborhoods

• Mark and Patricia McCloskey gave an impassioned endorsement of President Donald Trump at the Republican National Convention on Monday.
• They also claimed that Democrats "no longer view the government's job as protecting honest citizens from criminals, but rather protecting criminals from honest citizens."
• Mark McCloskey went on to describe Cori Bush, a liberal activist who recently won the Democratic primary in Missouri's 1st Congressional District, as a "Marxist revolutionary" who will usurp Americans' freedoms.
• "They want to walk the hall of Congress, they want to take over, they want power," McCloskey said. "This is Joe Biden's party."
• The McCloskeys also exploited white fear and grievances by pushing the racially charged talking point that Democrats want to bring "crime, lawlessness," and low-income housing to "thriving" suburban neighborhoods.

Mark and Patricia McCloskey, the St. Louis couple that made headlines this year for pointing their guns at peaceful protesters, gave an impassioned endorsement of President Donald Trump at the Republican National Convention on Monday. They also claimed that Democrats "no longer view the government's job as protecting honest ciritzens from criminals, but rather protecting criminals from honest citizens."

"What you saw happen to us could just as easily happen to any of you who are watching from quiet neighborhoods around our country, and that's what we want to speak to you about tonight," Patricia McCloskey said.

Her husband spoke after, saying, "Whether it's the defunding of police, ending cash bail so criminals can be released back out on the streets the same day to riot again, or encouraging anarchy and chaos on our streets, it seems as if the Democrats no longer view the government's job as protecting honest citizens from criminals, but rather protecting criminals from honest citizens."

Mark McCloskey went on to describe the group of peaceful protesters outside their home as an "out of control mob" and expressed outrage that he and his wife were charged with felonies "for daring to defend our home."

The McCloskeys sparked an intense debate when they were seen in multiple videos in June pointing their guns at protesters who were on their way to St. Louis Mayor Lyda Krewson's home to demonstrate against police brutality.

The protests came in the wake of the police killing of George Floyd, a 46-year-old Black man who died after a white Minneapolis police officer knelt on his neck for nearly nine minutes while Floyd said he couldn't breathe and begged for air.

Shortly after the McCloskeys confronted the protesters, St. Louis Circuit Attorney Kimberly Gardner charged them with unlawful use of a gun.

"It is illegal to wave weapons in a threatening manner at those participating in a nonviolent protest, and while we are fortunate this situation did not escalate into deadly force, this type of conduct is unacceptable in St. Louis," Gardner said, according to Vox.

During their speech Monday, Mark McCloskey described Cori Bush, the activist leading protesters in St. Louis, as a "Marxist revolutionary."

Bush recently unseated 20-year incumbent Lacy Clay in the Democratic primary in Missouri's 1st Congressional District.

"That Marxist revolutionary is now going to be the congresswoman from the 1st District of Missouri," Mark McCloskey said on Monday. "These radicals are not content with marching in the streets. They want to walk the hall of Congress, they want to take over, they want power. This is Joe Biden's party. These are the people who will be in charge of your future and the future of your children."

Patricia McCloskey spoke after her husband, claiming that Democrats "are not satisfied with spreading the chaos and violence into our communities" and want to "abolish the suburbs all together."

She added that Democratic leadership would bring "crime, lawlessness, and low quality apartments into now thriving neighborhoods. These are the policies that are coming in to a neighborhood near you. So make no mistake, no matter where you live, your family will not be safe in the radical Democrats' America."

Trump and his Republican allies frequently celebrate the rollback of Obama-era housing rules and exploit white fear and grievances by claiming low-income housing is destroying suburban neighborhoods.

"I am happy to inform all of the people living their Suburban Lifestyle Dream that you will no longer be bothered or financially hurt by having low income housing built in your neighborhood," Trump tweeted late last month, after Housing and Urban Development Secretary Ben Carson said he would rescind the 2015 Affirmatively Furthering Fair Housing regulation.. "Your housing prices will go up based on the market, and crime will go down. I have rescinded the Obama-Biden AFFH Rule. Enjoy!"

Housing advocates have criticized the rule change, saying it would give localities much freer rein to allow discriminatory and unequal housing conditions to persist.

Grace Panetta contributed to this report.