Missouri Gov. Mike Parson (R) pardoned Patricia and Mark McCloskey, who pointed guns at peaceful Black Lives Matter demonstrators near their home in June 2020 and pleaded guilty to misdemeanor charges in June 2021, reports CNN.
However, Parson refuses to pardon 62-year-old Kevin Strickland, who has spent 43 years in jail even though he has been declared innocent by state and federal prosecutors, noted KCUR.
Mark McCloskey is using pictures of himself brandishing a weapon on his U.S. Senate campaign website and social media.
One of the peaceful protesters in the Black Lives Matter group was now-Rep. Cori Bush (D-Mo) who told CNN the pardon “absolutely unbelievable”:
They stood there, they pointed their guns — totally reckless — to a group of non-violent protesters walking down the street. That had no clue that they lived there, didn’t care that they lived there, didn’t know them, didn’t want to know them.
(Sources: CNN via YouTube, CNN via Twitter, KCUR)