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St. Louis Authorities Return McCloskeys' AR-15 After Multi-Year Legal Battle

ST. LOUIS, MISSOURI, AUG 4 – After 1,847 days and multiple legal battles, the St. Louis couple successfully reclaimed their AR-15 rifle seized during the 2020 protests, with their convictions expunged last year.

  • On August 2, 2025, Mark McCloskey re-took his AR-15 at a police station after a five-year legal fight, the St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department said.
  • In St. Louis, the McCloskeys’ viral standoff began on June 28, 2020, after they went viral for wielding guns during a protest confrontation involving Black Lives Matter protesters.
  • Less than a month after the incident, police seized their AR-15, and Mark McCloskey said, `When you're facing 350 to 500 people screaming death and arson — 'I'm going to rape and kill your wife, I'm going to burn down your house, I'm going to burn down your office building, I'm going to kill your dog' — the fact that we were able to hold them off is proof of the value of the Second Amendment and the absolute reason why we should resist every attempt on the part of the government to restrict, control, or remove those rights,' Mark McCloskey told Newsmax.
  • Next week, Patricia McCloskey, St. Louis lawyer, is expected to re-take possession of her Bryco.380-caliber pistol, Mark McCloskey said Saturday.
  • Their experience has galvanized support from gun rights advocates across the country, and the return of their rifle highlights concerns about legal overreach in self-defense cases.
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Mark and Patricia McCloskey, the iconic couple who faced BLM protesters in front of their property with firearms in 2020, has successfully recovered their AR-15 rifle after a protracted legal battle.

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TMZ broke the news in Los Angeles, United States on Saturday, August 2, 2025.
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