Mark and Patricia McCloskey, the Missouri couple catapulted into the national spotlight for brandishing firearms during a 2020 Black Lives Matter protest, have finally reclaimed the AR-15 rifle confiscated in the political fallout that followed.

The win comes after nearly five years of relentless legal wrangling and serves as a testament to the endurance of gun owners who refuse to back down in the face of prosecutorial overreach.

“It only took 3 lawsuits, 2 trips to the Court of Appeals and 1,847 days, but I got my AR15 back!” Mark McCloskey announced on X, formerly Twitter, with a video of himself retrieving the firearm from the St. Louis Police Department.

Prosecuted for Self-Defense

The rifle was confiscated following the widely publicized incident where the McCloskeys, confronted by a crowd of protesters who had breached their private neighborhood, defended their home with lawfully owned firearms.

Despite no shots being fired and no one being harmed, then-St. Louis Circuit Attorney Kim Gardner charged the couple, illustrating the kind of political prosecution that chills lawful self-defense.

The couple ultimately pleaded guilty to minor misdemeanors to avoid further legal and financial burden, and were later pardoned by Missouri Governor Mike Parson. 

Yet the state refused to return their firearms, forcing the McCloskeys into a new legal battle—this time, to reclaim property that should never have been taken in the first place.

Their records were finally expunged in June 2024, clearing the path to recover the rifle. 

Still, bureaucrats delayed. Now, with the AR-15 in hand, the McCloskeys can declare not just a personal win, but a symbolic one for armed self-defense in America.

Echoes of Kenosha

Their ordeal echoes another case from 2020—one that unfolded hundreds of miles away in Kenosha, Wisconsin.

That was when Kyle Rittenhouse, then a 17-year-old, found himself under siege while offering aid and protecting property during nights of violent unrest.

Attacked by multiple assailants—one armed with a handgun, another with a skateboard—Rittenhouse was forced to defend his life. 

A jury found his actions justified. Still, his rifle, too, was seized and destroyed in the wake of his acquittal.

Rittenhouse, a close friend and valued member of the Texas Gun Rights family, knows firsthand what it means to be vilified for daring to defend oneself.

“We live in a time where prosecutors think the political optics of a gun matter more than the life behind the trigger,” said Chris McNutt, President of Texas Gun Rights. “The McCloskeys’ fight—and Kyle’s—remind us why the Second Amendment must be protected without compromise.”

A Pattern of Prosecution

Both cases highlight a chilling pattern: when lawful self-defense collides with political ideology, it’s the gun owner who pays the price. 

Whether it’s a couple defending their home from a mob or a teenager facing life-threatening assault, the message is clear—when you fight back, the system might come for you.

“Every gun owner in America should take this as a reminder: defend your home, defend your rights—but be prepared to defend your freedom in court too,” said McNutt. “That’s why the work of organizations like Texas Gun Rights is more important than ever.”

As the political class continues to wage war on lawful gun owners, stories like these aren’t just news—they’re warnings. 

And they serve as fuel for the fight to keep the Second Amendment alive.