KMOV4 reports hundreds of protesters chanted and marched to St. Louis Mayor Lyda Krewson’s home Sunday night calling for her resignation.
A group of 300 protesters, chanting “resign Lyda, take the cops with you,” marched after Krewson read the names and addresses of demonstrators calling for police reform during a Friday afternoon Facebook Live video.
During the protest, a couple at a nearby home stepped outside with guns around 7:30 p.m. Images and videos showed 61-year-old Patricia McCloskey pointing a handgun at the crowd and her husband 63-year-old Mark McCloskey was seen holding a rifle.
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
The images and videos were shared thousands of times on social media Sunday night. Some people are supporting them for protecting their property and others are strongly criticizing them.
The homeowner reached out to News 4 Monday morning saying he was having dinner with his family outside of his home when the crowd smashed through wrought iron gates marked with “No Trespassing” and “Private Street” signs on Portland Place.
“A mob of at least 100 smashed through the historic wrought iron gates of Portland Place, destroying them, rushed towards my home where my family was having dinner outside and put us in fear of our lives,” Mark McCloskey said.
The couple told the protesters that they were on trespassing on a private street and needed to leave. Shortly after, police said the couple grabbed their guns after noticing several armed protesters in the crowd, shouting threats.
“This is all private property. There are no public sidewalks or public streets. We were told that we would be killed, our home burned and our dog killed. We were all alone facing an angry mob,” he continued.
WATCH:
St. Louis AR-15 guy is an absolute baller pic.twitter.com/RHrv3VKMEZ
— Caleb Hull (@CalebJHull) June 29, 2020