by Penka Arsova
LaCorte News
The circuit attorney for the city of St. Louis, Kimberly Gardner has been disqualified from prosecuting Mark McCloskey, who along with his wife, pulled out their firearms to defend their home against protesters.
The story: Circuit Judge Thomas Clark II said that the mention of the couple in Gardener’s fundraising emails suggested that she “initiated a criminal prosecution for political purposes,” the judge wrote, according to the St. Louis Post Dispatch.
“Like a needle pulling thread, she links the defendant and his conduct to her critics,” Clark wrote, referring to Mark McCloskey. “These emails are tailored to use the June 28 incident to solicit money by positioning her against defendant and her more vocal critics.”
Clark’s decision means that Gardener and her office cannot prosecute Mark McCloskey. The ruling does not affect the case against his wife, Patricia McCloskey.