‘Terrified’ US couple Mark and Patricia McCloskey draw guns on protesters passing their mansion
- White couple pointed guns at protesters supporting the Black Lives Matter movement
- Marchers were angry at mayor for reading aloud the names and addresses of residents who wrote letters calling for defunding of police
A US couple brandishing an assault rifle and a handgun confronted protesters outside their Missouri mansion in a viral video that was retweeted by President Donald Trump, sparking divided reactions.
In the video, Mark McCloskey wears a pink polo shirt and pleated khakis, with his wife Patricia is in a striped T-shirt and cropped pants.
Both stood barefoot in their garden in St Louis, Missouri, on Sunday evening as protesters marched down a private street to demonstrate in front of the mayor’s house.
Mark McCloskey, 63, a lawyer like his wife, 61, told a local news channel they were “terrified” when the protesters arrived.
“A mob of at least 100 smashed through the historic wrought iron gates of Portland Place [and] rushed towards my home where my family was having dinner outside and put us in fear for our lives,” he told KMOV4, the local CBS affiliate.
“This is all private property. There are no public sidewalks or public streets,” McCloskey said. “I was terrified that we’d be murdered within seconds, our house would be burned down, our pets would be killed. We were all alone facing an angry mob.”
Trump retweeted without comment the video of the white couple pointing a semi-automatic rifle and a handgun at the protesters, the majority of whom were black.