Mark McCloskey, gun-toting St. Louis lawyer, considering Senate bid

Mark McCloskey — the gun-toting St. Louis attorney who drew headlines last year for brandishing an assault rifle at Black Lives Matter protesters — says he’s looking at running for Missouri’s open Senate seat.

“I can confirm that it’s a consideration, yes,” McCloskey said in a brief interview on Tuesday evening.

McCloskey, a wealthy personal-injury lawyer, said that he had no timeline for making a decision about whether to enter the race for the seat from which Republican Sen. Roy Blunt is retiring. This past weekend, McCloskey spoke at a Jackson County GOP dinner, which also drew former Gov. Eric Greitens and state Attorney General Eric Schmitt, both of whom have announced their candidacies.

In June 2020, McCloskey and his wife, Patricia, waved guns at protesters who were marching past their mansion on the way to the home of then-St. Louis Mayor Lyda Krewson. Images of the barefoot couple defending their home — which took place amid a summer of social unrest following the killing of George Floyd — almost immediately went viral. They were later indicted on charges of unlawful use of a weapon and evidence tampering.

The couple became a cause célèbre for conservatives and won the support of then-President Donald Trump, who used the incident to advance a central theme of his reelection campaign — that far-left activists were overrunning upscale communities. Trump retweeted video footage of the incident and defended the couple in a televised interview, saying it was “disgraceful” they were facing legal action.

The McCloskeys were awarded a speaking slot on the opening night of the 2020 Republican convention. In a pre-recorded, four-minute video, the couple warned that liberals wanted to “demolish” suburban areas and take away gun rights.

GOP Rep. Jason Smith has also been mentioned as a potential candidate for the seat, as has GOP Rep. Billy Long, both of whom will be appearing at separate fundraising events next week at Trump’s Mar-a-Lago resort in South Florida. The list of Democratic contenders includes former state Sen. Scott Sifton and attorney Lucas Kunce.