Disturbing footage of couple pointing guns at protesters
A couple have been filmed pointing guns at protesters outside their mansion in the US as they marched towards the mayor’s home.
Lyda Krewson, the mayor of St Louis in the US state of Missouri, came under fire on Friday night for reading out the names and addresses of people who wanted to defund the police in a now-deleted Facebook video, KSDK reported.
The names were on a number of letters addressed to the mayor suggesting changes to the city’s budget, including how much the police department should be allocated.
She has since apologised.
But it didn’t stop protesters marching to Ms Krewson’s residence on Sunday, calling for her resignation.
As protesters walked the streets, a couple were pictured outside their home holding guns to prevent people stepping onto their property inside a gated community.
In a number of videos and photos which have surfaced online, the couple appear to point guns at the protesters – the woman holding a pistol while the man holds a rifle.
It’s not known what the woman is saying to protesters, but in one video a protester tries to diffuse the situation by asking the group to move on.
About 300 protesters marched, the New York Post reported.
The paper reported that in order to pass the home of the couple with guns, the protesters broke through a fence.
The couple were identified by The Riverfront Times as Mark and Patricia McCloskey. Both work as personal injury lawyers.
One man tweeted the couple were “scared of their own community”.
Mr McCloskey represented a man suing the St Louis police department after it was alleged an officer kicked him as he was being arrested.
“I’m glad that the law enforcement agencies are subject to the same standard as everybody else," he said.
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
On Saturday, 16 people were arrested on charges of disturbing the peace, unlawful assembly and failure to disperse after a confrontation outside the Florissant Police station in St Louis.
Police said some protesters threw frozen water bottles, glass bottles, batteries and rocks at officers.
Authorities said officers used pepper spray and fired one bean bag round after a person assaulted an officer.
The police department said in a statement on Sunday peaceful protests had been allowed outside the police station for several weeks, but protesters had become “more aggressive and confrontational”.
Tensions have remained high in Florissant since video was released showing a black suspect being struck by a white detective’s SUV.
The driver of the SUV, Detective Joshua Smith of the Florissant Police Department, was fired after the violent June 2 arrest, and he has been charged with felony assault, felony armed criminal action and misdemeanour assault.
Video from two home security systems showed Smith’s SUV striking the suspect, then the ex-detective chasing and attacking the screaming man. Smith’s lawyer has claimed it was an accident.
with The Associated Press
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