Armed St. Louis couple who defended their home from angry mob speaks out

UPDATE: St. Louis police are investigating the mob for trespassing and fourth-degree assault by intimidation.

Hundreds of protestors called for the resignation of St. Louis Mayor Lyda Krewson on Sunday night as they made their way to her house chanting “resign Lyda, take the cops with you.”

As the protest went by, a couple stepped out of their home carrying guns at about 7:30 p.m. Mark McClosky, 63, was carrying a rifle while his wife Patricia, 61, had a handgun which she pointed at the protestors.

The group of approximately 300 protestors gathered after Mayor Kewson gave out the names and addresses of activists pushing for police reform. Krewson released the information over Facebook Live on Friday afternoon, reports KMOV4.

The two are personal-injury lawyers and work at the McCloskey Law Center in the city. Many are criticizing the couple online while others are showing them support.

Mark McCloskey said he and his family were eating dinner as the protestors passed through an iron gate that said “Private Street” and “No Trespassing.”

The protestors can be seen walking through the gate on a video that was posted to social media.

"A mob of at least 100 smashed through the historic wrought iron gates of Portland Place, destroying them, rushed towards my home where my family was having dinner outside and put us in fear of our lives," McCloskey said.

"This is all private property. There are no public sidewalks or public streets. We were told that we would be killed, our home burned and our dog killed. We were all alone facing an angry mob."

Many mainstream media reports about the incident painted the couple in a negative light and failed to disclose that the mob were uttering violent threats and trespassing on private property.

An online petition calling for Mayor Krewson’s resignation has received over 40,000 signatures so far. The people calling for her resignation claim Krewson doxed people by sharing the information over Facebook. A spokesperson for the mayor noted that the information was all public record.

“Tonight, I would like to apologize for identifying individuals who presented letters to me at City Hall as I was answering a routine question during one of my updates earlier today. While this is public information, I did not intend to cause distress or harm to anyone,” said Krewson in a statement. “The post has been removed and again, I sincerely apologize.”

Tishaura Jones, the St. Louis City Treasurer posted a tweet that said: “The Mayor's actions not only endanger her citizens, it is also reckless.”