USA: Couple directs weapons at protesters in St. Louis

“Lyda, step back!” demanded a group of about 500 demonstrators on Sunday evening in St. Louis, Missouri. This meant the democratic mayor Lyda Krewson. She had incurred the anger of the citizens because she had publicly read live names and addresses of people who had asked to withdraw the funding from the local police via Facebook.

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The demonstrators were on their way to the mayor’s official residence when something unexpected happened on the side of the road: a white couple threatened the marchers with weapons from their property.

The 63-year-old lawyer Mark McCloskey justified his behavior towards the KMOV-TV station by saying that he and his wife were dealing with an angry mob in their private way. They would have feared for their lives. The police said the case was being investigated for illegally entering a property and attempting intimidation.

“All alone against the angry mob”

A video circulated on social media showing the two of them standing in front of their property in the affluent Central West End and aiming at those marching past with a rifle and handgun. They are said to have asked the protesters to leave the private road. The demonstrators responded with profanity and threats.

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“This is all privately owned,” McCloskey told the TV station. There are no public sidewalks or streets. “We were told that we would die, our house burned down and our dog killed. We were all alone against the angry mob.”

President Donald Trump retweeted ABC’s message about the incident without commenting. The controversial Facebook video, in which the mayor had given the names of those who want to withdraw money from the police, is no longer available. Krewson apologized for her behavior.

Nationwide, after George Floyd’s violent death during a police operation, many anti-racism protesters have joined the Defund the Police movement.

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The murder rate in St. Louis is high, the city is one of the most violent in the United States.

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