ST. LOUIS, Mo. — The lawyer for a St. Louis couple charged with brandishing guns at protesters outside their Central West End mansion argued Wednesday that Circuit Attorney Kimberly M. Gardner and her office should be disqualified, saying she tied the case to her reelection campaign.
"There's no place in our system, in our judicial system, for a political trial," lawyer Joel Schwartz said in court.
Mark McCloskey, 63, and Patricia McCloskey, 61, pleaded not guilty this month to charges of unlawful use of a weapon and evidence tampering related to a June 28 confrontation with protesters outside their home. The indictment alleges the McCloskeys brandished weapons at them and "altered a Bryco Arms semiautomatic pistol — to impair its verity" in the investigation of the couple's conduct.
Schwartz said Gardner created an "appearance of impropriety" when her campaign in July sent two emails mentioning the investigation of the McCloskeys while soliciting donations ahead of the Democratic primary in August. Gardner won the primary easily and now faces Republican challenger Daniel Zrdrodowski in next week's general election.
Gardner opposes the couple's attempt to remove her from the politically charged case, which quickly found the national spotlight after Missouri Republicans and President Donald Trump criticized Gardner for pursuing an investigation.
On Wednesday, Assistant Circuit Attorney Rob Huq argued Gardner had the right to defend against attacks from Republican political foes from Missouri and elsewhere.
Huq said Gardner's campaign emails contained only generic references to the McCloskeys without mentioning them by name and made no promises to prosecute them in exchange for votes. He said the language used in Gardner's campaign emails is constitutionally protected "campaign speech."
"This is simple — it's clearly responsive to political attacks," Huq said. "Any reference to this incident before the court within those emails is simply to highlight the fact that politicians are using that incident to attack the circuit attorney."
In a statement posted to Twitter, Gardner said "it is extraordinarily rare for the court to order the disqualification of the elected prosecutor's entire office." She called the McCloskeys' allegations "baseless and meritless."
Schwartz also claimed Gardner's chief warrant officer Chris Hinckley made himself a witness to the case, creating a conflict of interest, when he instructed a crime lab to dismantle and reassemble the pistol Patricia McCloskey pointed at protesters. In response, Huq requested a hearing in Judge Thom Clark's chambers to argue against the claim but the judge did not grant one.
A ruling from Clark on the motion to disqualify Gardner is not expected for weeks.
Missouri Attorney General Eric Schmitt sought to intervene in the case by filing a brief supporting a motion to dismiss the case. Gov. Mike Parson has said he would pardon the McCloskeys if they are convicted.
