A US couple who were filmed pointing guns at Black Lives Matter protestors have been indicted by a Grand Jury.
Mark and Patricia McCloskey went viral after they were pictured brandishing handguns and assault rifles as demonstrators passed by their house in St Louis, Missouri, on June 28.
The protestors were on their way to the Mayor’s residence when they passed by the property.
Al Watkins, an attorney representing the couple, confirmed the indictments .
A spokesperson for Circuit Attorney Kim Gardner has declined comment.
Gardner had previously determined that the McCloskeys' actions risked violence during what had been a nonviolent march.
The couple were charged of unlawful use of a weapon.
The grand jury indictment also includes a tampering with evidence charge though it is not clear what led to that additional count.
Gardner is not planning to seek jail time for the married pair.
The McCloskeys had argued the protest was far from peaceful and that demonstrators came onto a private street and they felt threatened.
While nine protesters were charged with misdemeanour trespassing the city counsellor’s office later dropped the charges.
Mark McCloskey has previously expressed anger that he and his wife are facing criminal charges while those who trespassed are not.
A couple has come out of their house and is pointing guns at protesters in their neighborhood #StLouis #lydakrewson pic.twitter.com/ZJ8a553PAU
— Daniel Shular (@xshularx) June 29, 2020
Despite the announcement, Missouri governor Mike Parson has previously gone on the record with Fox News to say he would pardon them if they were charged.
"If you had a mob coming toward us, whether they tore down a gate or not, when they come on your property, they don’t have a right to do that in an aggressive manner," he told Sean Hannity.
President Donald Trump has also previously expressed support for the McCloskeys, branding the effort to charge them with a crime "a disgrace."
"They were going to be beat up badly, if they were lucky. OK? If they were lucky," Trump said in an interview with Townhall Media.
"They were going to be beat up badly and the house was going to be totally ransacked, and probably burned down, like they tried to burn down churches. And these people were standing there, never used it, and they were legal, the weapons.
"And now I understand somebody local they want to prosecute these people. It's a disgrace"
