WASHINGTON _ Missouri Sen. Josh Hawley asked the Department of Justice on Thursday to open an investigation into St. Louis Circuit Attorney Kim Gardner's prosecution of the St. Louis couple that brandished guns at protesters last month.
Gardner's office is investigating Mark and Patricia McCloskey for unlawful use of a weapon after an infamous June 28 viral video showed the couple outside their mansion pointing firearms at marchers on a private road headed to a protest against police brutality at St. Louis Mayor Lyda Krewson's house.
The incident has become a Rorschach test for the current political moment, with many conservatives arguing that the couple exercised their Second Amendment Rights in the face of trespassing protesters. Others, including progressives and supporters of the Black Lives Matter movement, viewed the wealthy couple as a symbol of white privilege.
