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  • randomuser

    Ultimate Member
    Nov 12, 2018
    5,778
    Baltimore County
    A circuit judge has just disqualified the prosecuting DA from the McCloskey case ... and her entire office.

    He doesn’t pull punches about her politicizing and fundraising around the case. So that means this goes to a different prosecutor, but that’s what McCloskey wanted, and I’m sure will renew righteous efforts to have those absurd charges dropped.

    https://www.stltoday.com/news/local...cle_6dd89413-e92e-54a7-ab32-ab1775c7ec3e.html

    The fact that it has gone as far as it has shows there justice isn't happening. What they are going through now is something that would have already broken most people financially. This isn't justice it's a mockery of justice and a stab at freedom.
     

    Bob A

    όυ φροντισ
    MDS Supporter
    Patriot Picket
    Nov 11, 2009
    30,691
    There's no shortage of DAs prosecuting obviously flawed cases in order to raise their visibility with the voters. Just because you shouldn't, doesn't mean you won't.

    George Zimmerman should never have been prosecuted, for example, but race-baiting works. Just ask Barack and his buddy Eric Holder.

    The US needs a mechanism to prosecute those who use their nearly unlimited power against the innocent. The government has all the cards, and unlimited funds, and our protection from malicious prosecution resides only in the ethics of lawyers running for office. Hello, Judge Sullivan, how's the posturing for a SCOTUS appointment coming along?
     

    chuck

    Ultimate Member
    MDS Supporter
    Feb 1, 2016
    1,522
    Anne Arundel
    I wonder if this new prosecutor will do anything about the former prosecutor altering evidence before filing charges.
     

    Mightydog

    Ultimate Member
    MDS Supporter
    At last something positive. Now she should get charged for misappropriation of her office!
     

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    ezracer

    Certified Gun Nut
    Jul 27, 2012
    4,761
    Behind enemy lines...
    Soooo, what's the latest on this saga?? Where are the McCloskeys?? Not a lot if info out there.

    I guess the case is still pending. Are they in jail?. Are they wearing monitors??

    This whole thing is disgusting and should never happen to law abiding Americans.
     

    Ponder_MD

    Ultimate Member
    Mar 9, 2020
    4,559
    Maryland
    I think the case is still pending but the prosecutor was removed. It's kind of in limbo. The governor is trying to get it dismissed.

    Here's my uneducated opinion:

    The McCloskeys had every right to feel threatened by the intrusion of a mob into their private community, but they handled it poorly. They brandished, which is a crime. Their brandishing may well have saved the lives of the intruders by deterring them, but that's not the way the law is written. I would have armed up, stayed out of sight and called the police. The first intruder to cross the threshold of a door/window of the house gets ventilated.

    Unfortunately, that's how most state laws are written. I don't think it's legal to shoot people for stepping on your lawn, (trespass) if they aren't directly threatening your life. (I read mixed stories as to whether or not the protesters/rioters were actually carrying firearms, so I'm not sure what's true at that point.) So, brandishing firearms on your lawn as a mob passes by on the street, even if they're unruly or armed isn't legal.

    Believe it or not, I think they'd have a better leg to stand on if the McCloskeys were calmly at "sling arms" when the mob came by. "I'm simply moving my arms around on my private property, I am not threatening anyone." It's the difference between someone catching a glimpse of your concealed handgun through your slightly open jacket and you actually pulling it out and showing it to them in a threatening manner.

    Eh, WTF do I know? I'm not an attorney. This is all supposition on my part. Even though I feel that they technically broke a law, I don't really want them to be prosecuted. I would like them to get some training though, especially the wife.
     

    Occam

    Not Even ONE Indictment
    MDS Supporter
    Feb 24, 2018
    20,239
    Montgomery County
    I don't think it's legal to shoot people for stepping on your lawn, (trespass) if they aren't directly threatening your life. (I read mixed stories as to whether or not the protesters/rioters were actually carrying firearms, so I'm not sure what's true at that point.)

    Regardless of armed/not-armed status, the crowd is on video saying they're going to burn the house down, kill, etc. It's not like there's any question of whether or not that was life-threatening behavior.

    So, brandishing firearms on your lawn as a mob passes by on the street, even if they're unruly or armed isn't legal.

    Brandishing is dicey and specific chains of events are make or break for legality, no question. But note that the crowd was NOT passing by on the the street. They broke into private property and were making an appearance on the McCloskeys' lawn specifically to make a threatening stink. Their next destination (a planned siege of the mayor's house, blocks away) was in no way served by taking an out of the way detour through the McCloskey's gate and into their yard. Screaming death threats isn't really a "just taking a shortcut, don't mind us" kind of behavior.

    I don't really want them to be prosecuted. I would like them to get some training though, especially the wife.

    Yeah, just a little tweak to their carrying style on their own front porch would have gone a long way, PR-wise. But looking to lock them up while giving the people threatening to burn down their house a total pass? That is some pure, politicized BS from the prosecutor (now thrown off the case).
     

    press1280

    Ultimate Member
    Jun 11, 2010
    7,878
    WV
    Brandishing in and of itself is not a crime. They were clearly reacting to something (their gate being ripped down) as opposed to someone casually walking by and they start waving their firearms around at them in a threatening manner.
     

    Deep Thought

    Active Member
    Jan 27, 2013
    575
    Columbia, MD
    Brandishing in and of itself is not a crime. They were clearly reacting to something (their gate being ripped down) as opposed to someone casually walking by and they start waving their firearms around at them in a threatening manner.

    It's my understanding, but I could be wrong, that in some localities it is a crime to brandish. I've heard of concealed carriers getting jammed up when accidentally exposing their carry piece, even without drawing.

    I'm not sure of the laws where the mccloskey's live. If it were me I wouldn't have left my house. But with an angry mob bearing down in my opinion they clearly feared for their safety. I hope they are acquitted.
     

    Ponder_MD

    Ultimate Member
    Mar 9, 2020
    4,559
    Maryland
    Regardless of armed/not-armed status, the crowd is on video saying they're going to burn the house down, kill, etc. It's not like there's any question of whether or not that was life-threatening behavior.

    I have one key question about the timing:

    Did the crowd/mob make those threats because the McCloskeys were brandishing, or did the McCloskey's arm up and brandish because the mob started making those threats?

    The order in which these things occurred, matters. My understanding (which may be flawed) is that the mob broke down the gate to transit through the neighborhood on their way to protest at the St. Louis' mayor's house. I didn't think that they specifically targeted that neighborhood for destruction.
     

    ezracer

    Certified Gun Nut
    Jul 27, 2012
    4,761
    Behind enemy lines...
    The McCloskys are clearly not left or right wing radicals. The mob was clearly threatening. It's easy to "arm chair quarterback".

    Me? I'd hope I would have the calmness and mental clarity to just stand in my doorway.....with weapon pointed down.

    If you do not have a weapon (bat, club, firearm, etc.), that probably will NOT be enough of a deterrent for a mob. Dunno ???!!!

    So my question remains. Are the McCloskys in jail, at home, confined to their home, ankle bracelets......WHAT????
     

    Occam

    Not Even ONE Indictment
    MDS Supporter
    Feb 24, 2018
    20,239
    Montgomery County
    My understanding (which may be flawed) is that the mob broke down the gate to transit through the neighborhood on their way to protest at the St. Louis' mayor's house.

    This is the central issue. The mob was well organized, and had previously had people literally painting arrows on the public streets like a parade route to show them where to go to get to the mayor's house. The decision to go out of their way to break into a gated community was NOT so they could get where they were going easier or faster, it was because making a spectacle in the front yards of hated wealthy people was a fun side-trip on their way to their planned siege.

    Every one of the "protesters" had mobile devices (after all, their entire purpose for these outings is to post video of it on social media) that can show them the shortest path to their intended victim, and taking a jaunt blocks out of their way to break down a gate and do a thing on someone's lawn wasn't in any way part of getting there. It was a bonus round. Social media extra credit.
     

    MigraineMan

    Ultimate Member
    Jun 9, 2011
    19,109
    Frederick County
    Regardless of armed/not-armed status, the crowd is on video saying they're going to burn the house down, kill, etc. It's not like there's any question of whether or not that was life-threatening behavior.

    I have one key question about the timing:

    Did the crowd/mob make those threats because the McCloskeys were brandishing, or did the McCloskey's arm up and brandish because the mob started making those threats?

    The order in which these things occurred, matters. My understanding (which may be flawed) is that the mob broke down the gate to transit through the neighborhood on their way to protest at the St. Louis' mayor's house. I didn't think that they specifically targeted that neighborhood for destruction.

    Wait, what?

    Assuming that the McCloskey's "brandished," that hardly justifies the crowd to issue threats of arson and murder. If the crowd issued these threats after the McCloskeys made their porch appearance, it would seem to reinforce the claim that the crowd had malevolent intent.
     

    Inigoes

    Head'n for the hills
    MDS Supporter
    Dec 21, 2008
    49,365
    SoMD / West PA
    I have one key question about the timing:

    Did the crowd/mob make those threats because the McCloskeys were brandishing, or did the McCloskey's arm up and brandish because the mob started making those threats?

    The order in which these things occurred, matters. My understanding (which may be flawed) is that the mob broke down the gate to transit through the neighborhood on their way to protest at the St. Louis' mayor's house. I didn't think that they specifically targeted that neighborhood for destruction.

    Back it up a bit. The crowd was not on any old public street.

    The crowd broke into the McCloskey's property through a private gate. Ripping a gate off of it's hinges to gain access is not a peaceful protest.
     

    TheOriginalMexicanBob

    Ultimate Member
    Jul 2, 2017
    32,179
    Sun City West, AZ
    It was a private gate and a private lane. The so-called "protesters" claimed afterwards the gate was open. Photographs show the gate was damaged and off its hinges...but that photo may have been taken after the incident, not before. Still...it's at least circumstantial evidence...the "protesters" had no reason to tear the gate off its hinges after the incident.

    The "protesters" also threatened to kill the McClosky's dog and to enter their home and trash the place. While the McCloskys certainly were in enough reasonable fear to arm themselves their tactics could have been better but they were within their rights considering the circumstances.

    The "protesters" had their own film crews and many cell phones to record the event. If the incident occurred as they claim...why haven't they released such camera footage to exculpate themselves? If they're innocent of wrongdoing they would give that footage to the friendly media. That more than likely means they're hiding the truth as it harms their side.
     

    Threeband

    The M1 Does My Talking
    MDS Supporter
    Dec 30, 2006
    25,234
    Carroll County
    It is not possible to transit through the gated neighborhood to get to the Mayor's house. The crowd was deliberately led on a side trip into private property by the organizers who were herding them.
     

    frogman68

    товарищ плачевная
    Apr 7, 2013
    8,774
    Mr Mccloskey is thinking of running for the Sen seat held by Blunt.

    Does say which party but don't think he will be for gun control
     

    TheOriginalMexicanBob

    Ultimate Member
    Jul 2, 2017
    32,179
    Sun City West, AZ
    Mr Mccloskey is thinking of running for the Sen seat held by Blunt.

    Does say which party but don't think he will be for gun control

    I've understood he's a Democrat or at least supported Dem policies. Whether he'll be a gun control opponent now is an open question.

    It does bring to mind the saying that a conservative is a liberal that's been mugged.
     

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