Tuesday on FNC’s “Fox & Friends,” Sen. Josh Hawley (R-MO) called on the Department of Justice to open a civil rights investigation into the St. Louis Circuit Attorney’s Office, headed by Kim Gardner, for its decision to prosecute Mark and Patricia McCloskey on the grounds it is “illegal to wave weapons in a threatening manner.”
Hawley dismissed Gardner’s claim, calling her “out of control.”
“They did have the right to do what they did,” he explained. “They were standing on their own property. Let’s just review the facts. They’re on their own property. They were carrying lawful firearms that they lawfully possessed, and there were trespassers who had broken down a gate and were coming onto their property. And the couple said get off our property. I mean, don’t hurt us. Get off of our area. And they had every right to do that.”
“This prosecutor is totally out of control,” Hawley continued. “Really, this is an abuse of power. You want to know what an abuse of power looks like? This is a textbook example. And that’s why, Steve, I think the United States Department of Justice needs to open a civil rights investigation into the St. Louis circuit attorney’s office.”
According to the Missouri Republican, that violation of the McCloskeys’ civil rights was their Second Amendment protections.
“Exactly right, their Second Amendment rights,” he replied when asked by “Fox & Friends” co-host Steve Doocy. “And here’s the other piece of it that is really important here. This same prosecutor has had dozens of violent rioters and looters brought to her by the St. Louis Police Department, and she hasn’t prosecuted them. She’s let them go. She’s turned them back out into the street. And then she goes after this couple who are absolutely entitled under the United States Constitution, the Missouri Constitution and Missouri law to protect their own property. It’s a terrible miscarriage of justice.”
Follow Jeff Poor on Twitter @jeff_poor
COMMENTS
Please let us know if you're having issues with commenting.