Supreme Court declines appeal from couple who pointed guns at BLM protesters

The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday declined to hear an appeal from Mark and Patricia McCloskey, the St. Louis couple who had their law licenses sanctioned after they pointed guns at Black Lives Matter protesters outside of their home in the Summer of 2020.

The couple used a pistol and a rifle to confront BLM demonstrators after nearly a month of violent protests in St. Louis following the death of George Floyd in police custody. The couple became an iconic image and later went on to receive praise from former President Donald Trump and speak at CPAC.

They went on to receive disciplinary sanctions. The McCloskeys asked the Supreme Court to overturn the punishment, saying that the sanctions violated their Second Amendment rights, The Hill reported.

The justices denied the order without any comment.

Mark and Patricia McCloskey are in a probationary period until February, and if they commit any violations they risk losing their legal licenses indefinitely. They also must complete 100 hours of pro bono legal work. 

Mark McCloskey, who is running as a GOP U.S. Senate candidate for Missouri, told The Hill: "I was hoping that they would find that a lawyer who’s had a clean and spotless record for 37 years of practicing – that sanctioning them for doing no more than defending themselves would be a concept that they would take seriously and take under submission... But I wasn’t surprised."

The couple previously pleaded guilty in June 2021 to misdemeanors related to the incident and received pardons the next month by Gov. Mike Parson (R-Mo.).

Shortly thereafter, the Missouri panel that handles ethics complaints against attorneys filed a complaint to suspend the McCloskeys' law licenses, leading to the sanctions against the couple in February 2022.