A Missouri man who was arrested, charged, and subsequently pleaded guilty to brandishing a firearm at Black Lives Matter demonstrators passing by his home in 2020 is now seeking to expunge his pardoned misdemeanor conviction.
Mark McCloskey and his wife, Patricia, gained attention when they stood on the lawn of their Central West End mansion, brandishing a Colt AR-15 rifle and a Bryco .380-caliber pistol, respectively, at peaceful protestors passing by their residence. Their claim that they “felt unsafe” was made even though they were not initially targeted or recognized by the protesters.
McCloskey pled guilty to a misdemeanor fourth-degree assault charge, and his wife pleaded guilty to second-degree harassment. After being convicted, the duo received a pardon for their crimes from Republican Gov. Mike Parson.
Fast forward two and a half years to Tuesday, Jan. 23, the lawyer has filed a two-page petition to expunge the sole charge of misdemeanor assault from his record in a St. Louis Circuit Court.
In his filing, the personal injury attorney highlighted that he has kept a clean record over the past year. Additionally, he contends that he fulfilled all the court’s requirements, including settling the fines linked to the offense, and should have his record clean because of his good behavior.
“[M]y habits and conduct demonstrate that I am not a threat to the public safety of the state,” he said in the document, adding the expungement is “consistent with the public welfare and the interests of justice warrant the expungement,” according to Riverfront Times.
The motion also asks for $872.50 in total fines he had to pay to be reimbursed, something he has been trying to get done since he filed a lawsuit against the state, St. Louis Sheriff Vernon Betts, and Mayor Tishaura O. Jones in 2021 and that request was denied.
Apart from evaluating whether his recent behavior justifies expungement, the judge will also take into account the fact that he was once deemed a threat to public safety. The prosecutor, former U.S. Attorney Richard Callahan, as per Missouri law, will also have the opportunity to provide input.
If a St. Louis Circuit Court judge approves the filing, it would result in the sealing of his conviction records.
McCloskey’s law license is in jeopardy as long as his criminal record is not scrubbed. The lawyer has tried to reinvent himself after being convicted but was unable to jumpstart a new career in politics. McCloskey ran for a Missouri Senate seat, but the campaign failed miserably.
Despite garnering attention in the news for his anti-BLM stance and attempting to leverage his newfound patriot image, he struggled to gain public support, ultimately securing a measly 3 percent of the vote.
He now pins his hopes on the court being more forgiving than the voters.
