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The St. Louis couple who went viral in 2020 for wielding guns as Black Lives Matter protesters marched outside their property have regained possession of their semiautomatic rifle.
After a yearslong and complex legal struggle to reclaim their weapons after they were seized by authorities more than five years ago, police have returned the AR-15 to St. Louis lawyers Mark and Patricia McCloskey.
“It only took 3 lawsuits, 2 trips to the Court of Appeals and 1,847 days, but I got my AR15 back!” Mark McCloskey posted to his X account on Friday, along with several photos of him carrying the gun.
“We defended our home, were persecuted by the left, smeared by the press, and threatened with death, but we never backed down.”
In 2021, the McCloskeys pleaded guilty to misdemeanor fourth-degree assault and second-degree harassment but later were granted a pardon by former Missouri Gov. Mike Parson.

Former Missouri Gov. Mike Parson delivers the State of the State address Jan. 18, 2023, in Jefferson City, Mo. (AP Photo/Jeff Roberson)
Last month, a Missouri appeals court confirmed the expungement of the McCloskeys’ misdemeanor convictions, which, under state law, means it is as though the incident never happened, Mark McCloskey said.
“If you’ve been wronged, if you’ve been overreached by the leftist government — you can’t give up,” Mark McCloskey told Fox News Digital. “You can’t let them get an inch.”
The St. Louis Sheriff’s Office and the St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment.