#mccloskey

On June 28, 2020, protesters marching against racial injustice passed outside the home of Mark and Patricia McCloskey on their way to the house of the Mayor of St. Louis, Missouri. The McCloskeys’ now-infamous response was to aim an AR-15 rifle and a semiautomatic handgun at the protesters. They were subsequently arrested, and have been charged with unlawful use of a weapon (and also with evidence tampering, but that’s another story).

[Brief aside: The McCloskeys claim that the protesters were trespassing on their private property. As a matter of fact, the McCloskeys--who are both lawyers--have spent the last three years claiming to own property adjacent to their actual land, including relocating street signs, physically threatening others who use it, and pursuing litigation in defense of their supposed rights. So far no court has ruled in their favor.]

Newspaper photographers are allowed to capture images from public rights of way, so UPI photographer Bill Greenblatt took a picture of the McCloskeys brandishing their weapons at the lawful protesters. The litigious McCloskeys have now sued UPI and Greenblatt for licensing and publishing their photo without their consent, claiming that it contributed to their “significant national recognition and infamy” and caused them “humiliation, mental anguish, and severe emotional distress.”

St. Louis, 29 June 2020