Mark McCloskey Reclaims AR-15 After Years-Long Legal Battle with St. Louis Officials

Mark and Patricia McCloskey, the St. Louis couple who made national headlines in 2020 after brandishing firearms at Black Lives Matter protesters outside their home, have successfully regained one of the weapons involved in the incident after a protracted legal dispute.

In a video posted to X on Friday, Mark McCloskey is seen retrieving his AR-15 rifle from the St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department. The rifle had been in police custody since the 2020 confrontation that sparked national media attention and political reaction.

“It only took 3 lawsuits, 2 trips to the Court of Appeals and 1,847 days, but I got my AR15 back!” McCloskey wrote in the post.

“We defended our home, were persecuted by the left, smeared by the press, and threatened with death, but we never backed down.”

It only took 3 lawsuits, 2 trips to the Court of Appeals and 1,847 days, but I got my AR15 back! We defended our home, were persecuted by the left, smeared by the press, and threatened with death, but we never backed down
What’s missing-Patty and the Bryco (soon) pic.twitter.com/NOEyzyXZWM

— Mark McCloskey (@mccloskeyusa) August 1, 2025

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The McCloskeys, both attorneys, were filmed in June 2020 standing outside their home in the Central West End neighborhood of St. Louis holding firearms while protesters walked through their private street.

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The couple stated that the protesters had broken through a gate marked with “No Trespassing” signs and entered the private neighborhood. No one was injured during the incident.

Following the event, Mark McCloskey was charged with unlawful use of a weapon, while Patricia McCloskey faced a charge of second-degree harassment.

In 2021, the couple pleaded guilty to misdemeanors—Mark to fourth-degree assault and Patricia to second-degree harassment—and agreed to forfeit their weapons as part of the plea deal.

In 2024, a Missouri appeals court approved an expungement of the couple’s misdemeanor convictions. Under Missouri law, this removed the offenses from their criminal record and cleared the way for them to seek the return of the firearms.

“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,” Mark McCloskey told Fox News Digital.

“You have to let them know that you will never back down.”

Mark confirmed that his AR-15 had been held by the St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department, while Patricia’s Bryco .380-caliber pistol remained in the custody of the St. Louis Sheriff’s Department.

Picking up the AR at the police property room@ pic.twitter.com/Jcp16tYhpA

— Mark McCloskey (@mccloskeyusa) August 1, 2025

He said he expects the pistol to be returned sometime in the coming week.

Although the firearms were originally ordered to be destroyed following the guilty pleas, subsequent court proceedings revealed that both weapons were still in government possession.

Mark McCloskey filed a lawsuit in 2021 to retrieve the guns, but the request was initially denied by the courts.

After the 2024 expungement ruling, McCloskey prevailed in his legal effort to have the weapons returned.

City attorneys opposed the move, arguing that the McCloskeys remained a threat and referencing Mark’s use of the 2020 incident in campaign material during his U.S. Senate run, which ended unsuccessfully.

Judge Joseph P. Whyte ruled against the city’s objections, stating the court was required to rule according to the expungement statute and not based on political considerations.

According to the judge’s decision, protesters’ statements at the time only referenced perceived threats from that specific day and did not support claims of ongoing danger.

The 2020 case gained national attention and drew strong reactions from political leaders. President Donald Trump and multiple Republican officials voiced their support for the McCloskeys during the legal proceedings.

The couple also appeared in a video message at the 2020 Republican National Convention.

“Each and every one of us owns a personal responsibility for our freedom and our democratic republic,” Mark McCloskey said in a statement Friday.