Senator asks for investigation of Soros-funded St. Louis prosecutor

Sen. Josh Hawley, R-Mo., is calling for a federal civil rights investigation of St. Louis' chief prosecutor for targeting a couple who armed themselves to defend their home from Black Lives Matter protesters.

"This morning I have asked the Department of Justice to open a civil rights investigation into the St Louis Circuit Attorneys Office," he wrote on Twitter. "Targeting law abiding citizens who exercise constitutionally protected rights for investigation & prosecution is an abuse of power."

The couple, Mark and Patricia McCloskey, stood in front of their mansion armed with a handgun and a rifle after hundreds of protesters broke down a gate to get onto their private street en route to the home of St. Louis Mayor Lyda Krewson.

The circuit attorney for St. Louis, Kim Gardner, who has released dozens of protesters arrested of various charges, already has sent police to the McCloskey home twice, including once to confiscate their rifle.

In a letter to Attorney General William Barr, Hawley cites the "significant public unrest and discord" in the wake of the death of George Floyd in Minneapolis.

"As many Americans are peacefully exercising their constitutional rights to free speech and protest throughout the country, still others are exploiting this moment as an opportunity to sow violence and destruction. Too often, peaceful demonstrations have devolved into tense standoffs or violent riots, with threats and attacks on businesses, innocent bystanders, and law enforcement officers," the senator wrote.

This morning I have asked the Department of Justice to open a civil rights investigation into the St Louis Circuit Attorneys Office. Targeting law abiding citizens who exercise constitutionally protected rights for investigation & prosecution is an abuse of power https://t.co/lg9GbisWgd

— Josh Hawley (@HawleyMO) July 16, 2020

"One such incident occurred in St. Louis, Missouri, where a family reportedly faced a mass of demonstrators trespassing on their property and threatening them. When help from the police or from nearby security failed to arrive, this family, the McCloskeys, did what any reasonable person would do: they retrieved their lawfully owned firearms and defended their property and their lives. The confrontation was resolved with no one being hurt. Unfortunately, this family is facing new threats, not from demonstrators but from the local government. St. Louis Circuit Attorney Kim Gardner is now threatening to prosecute not the trespassers, but the McCloskeys, and she is using the powers of her office to target them. Her office has seized their firearms, and police have applied for warrants in the case, with an indictment believed to be imminent," he told Barr.

"This is an unacceptable abuse of power and threat to the Second Amendment, and I urge you to consider a federal civil rights investigation into the St. Louis Circuit Attorney’s Office to determine whether this investigation and impending prosecution violates this family’s constitutional rights," Hawley confirmed. "There is no question under Missouri law that the McCloskeys had the right to own and use their firearms to protect themselves from threatened violence, and that any criminal prosecution for these actions is legally unsound. The only possible motivation for the investigation, then, is a politically motivated attempt to punish this family for exercising their Second Amendment rights."

The case has drawn the attention of President Trump, who has offered to help, according to Missouri Gov. Mike Parson, Fox News reported.

"He understands the situation in St. Louis and how out of control it is for a prosecutor to let violent criminals off and not do their job and try to attack law-abiding citizens," Parson said. "The conversation I had with the president, said that he would do everything he could within his powers to help with this situation."

Parson said he spoke with the president about the case after police served a search warrant on the McCloskeys and confiscated their guns.

The Washington Examiner reported the state attorney general, Eric Schmitt, criticized the prosecuting attorney, who apparently plans to file charges against the couple.

"Under Missouri law, under the Castle Doctrine, an individual has really expansive authority to protect their own lives, their home, and their property. I think the story here to watch here is the local prosecutor, Kim Gardner," Schmitt said.

"Kim Gardner has an abysmal record in prosecuting violent crime, has recently released and been complicit in the release of dozens and dozens of inmates who have been charged with violent crimes, and has a record of making politically motivated decisions not based on the law," he added. "So, this is certainly something to watch."

He said Gardner has a record of making "politically motivated decisions."

Gardner is one of the prosecutors whose campaign accepted significant contributions, tens of thousands of dollars, from the far-left billionaire activist George Soros.

Here's the incident:

In a video posted to social media, peaceful protesters in St. Louis calling for police reforms walked past a couple brandishing firearms as they were ordered to stay away from the couple’s home https://t.co/bYl06iAiTo pic.twitter.com/wOZ1Wr3yac

— Reuters (@Reuters) June 29, 2020