By Jason Lange
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – A St. Louis man who drew international attention for brandishing a gun at racial justice protesters last year has announced he will run for a Missouri U.S. Senate seat as a Republican.
Mark McCloskey, who was indicted in October for illegal use of a weapon after the June 2020 incident, filed paperwork with federal officials on Tuesday declaring his candidacy.
McCloskey, a personal injury attorney, joins a growing Republican field seeking the seat being vacated by Republican Senator Roy Blunt. Former Missouri Governor Eric Greitens, a Republican, announced his candidacy in March.
McCloskey rose to national fame among conservatives and gun rights activists for pointing a semi-automatic rifle at protesters marching past his home, and he and his wife spoke at the Republican National Convention in August when then-President Donald Trump was nominated for a second term as president.
He has said that he and his wife Patricia, who pointed a handgun at protesters and faces similar charges, feared for their lives.
Videos have shown the McCloskeys, who are white, shouting at Black and white protesters, who appeared to be unarmed, to keep off their property.
The protests were part of a nationwide wave of demonstrations over police violence against Black people prompted by the May 2020 killing of George Floyd, a Black man, by a white Minneapolis police officer.
McCloskey said many Americans are tired of hearing about the country’s racism issues.
“God came knocking on my door last summer disguised as an angry mob,” he told Fox News host Tucker Carlson in a broadcast interview on Tuesday. “People are sick and tired of ‘cancel culture.'”
He and his wife pleaded not guilty in October to two felony charges: unlawful use of a weapon and tampering with evidence. Trump said last year charging the couple was an abuse of power. Democrat Joe Biden defeated Trump in a November election.
(Reporting by Jason Lange; Editing by Andy Sullivan and Howard Goller)
