St Louis couple known for 2020 armed BLM standoff win back their AR-15 after legal battle

Mark and Patricia McCloskey, the St. Louis couple who made national headlines in 2020 after confronting Black Lives Matter protesters with firearms near their property, have successfully recovered one of their weapons following a prolonged legal battle.

On Friday, Mark McCloskey announced via his X account that the couple’s AR-15 rifle had been returned after more than five years.

“It only took 3 lawsuits, 2 trips to the Court of Appeals and 1,847 days, but I got my AR15 back!” he wrote, including photos of himself holding the rifle. In a separate post, he uploaded a video showing him retrieving the firearm from a police station.

“That gun may have only been worth $1,500 or something, and it cost me a lot of time and a lot of effort to get it back, but you have to do that,” McCloskey told Fox News. “You have to let them know that you will never back down, you’ll never give up.”

The AR-15 had been held by the St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department, while a pistol—brandished by Patricia McCloskey during the same confrontation—was in the custody of the St. Louis Sheriff’s Department. Mark McCloskey said he expects the pistol to be returned in the coming days.

In his interview, McCloskey said, “Each and every one of us owns a personal responsibility for our freedom and our democratic republic.”

The couple was thrust into the national spotlight in June 2020 when they were filmed pointing firearms at protesters who had entered their gated neighborhood en route to the then-mayor’s home.

The McCloskeys said they felt threatened after protesters ignored a “No Trespassing” sign and entered through a broken gate. No injuries were reported during the standoff.

The incident led to charges filed by then-St. Louis Circuit Attorney Kim Gardner, who accused the pair of unlawful use of a weapon. Missouri Attorney General Eric Schmitt later attempted to have the charges dropped. The couple eventually pleaded guilty to misdemeanor counts—fourth-degree assault and second-degree harassment—but were later pardoned by then-Governor Mike Parson.

Last month, the Missouri Court of Appeals approved an expungement of those convictions. Mark McCloskey said the ruling effectively wipes the incident from the record under state law.

“If you’ve been wronged, if you’ve been overreached by the leftist government — you can’t give up,” he said to Fox News. “You can’t let them get an inch.”

The St. Louis Sheriff’s Office and St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department did not respond to requests for comment.