St. Louis Police Seize McCloskeys’ Firearms

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In an alarming turn of events, police have stolen (er, “confiscated”) the firearms which were used by the now-legendary “pink polo shirt couple” to defend their home against trespassers.

The McCloskeys became darlings of liberty-lovers and villains of gun-haters when they brandished an AR-style rifle and a small pistol at a large group of 300-500 trespassing “protesters” who they said threatened to kill them, harm their dog, and burn down their home.

“[They said] that they were going to kill us,” Patricia McCloskey added Monday night. “They were going to come in there. They were going to burn down the house. They were going to be living in our house after I was dead, and they were pointing to different rooms and said, ‘That’s going to be my bedroom and that’s going to be the living room and I’m going to be taking a shower in that room,” she recalled. [source]

When the mob decided to return “specifically for [the McCloskeys] and to get [them] and to burn the house,” the couple were reportedly warned ahead of time. They began securing valuables, boarded up their home, and hired private security. That particular confrontation was “loud, but non-violent.”

Thank goodness the couple could afford to take those measures. Not everyone in the nation has those resources, but everyone can afford a firearm to protect his or her home.

But last Friday, police reportedly searched the couple’s home and took away the rifle which had almost certainly saved their lives and their home. The reportedly-inoperable handgun brandished by Mrs. McCloskey had apparently already been handed over to their attorney, who later surrendered it to police.

I have seen nothing to suggest that any sort of due process has been followed in this case. The couple has not been charged with any crime, much less convicted — yet police have come into their home and taken their firearms under threat of force.

With all the uncertainty of our times, guns are selling like hotcakes all over the USA. But if they are used for rightful defense of home and hearth, will police show up and take them away, thus leaving our fellow citizens defenseless?

This should never happen in a free country.

Russ Chastain

Editor & Contributing Writer Russ Chastain is a lifelong hunter and shooter who has spent his life learning about hunting, shooting, guns, ammunition, gunsmithing, reloading, and bullet casting. He started toting his own gun in the woods at age nine and he's pursued deer with rifles since 1982, so his hunting knowledge has been growing for more than three and a half decades. His desire and ability to share this knowledge with others has also grown, and Russ has been professionally writing and editing original hunting & shooting content since 1998. Russ Chastain has a passion for sharing accurate, honest, interesting hunting & shooting knowledge and stories with people of all skill levels.