Mark McCloskey Files Campaign Papers to Run for Senate in Missouri

Mark and Patricia McCloskey stand in front of their house holding firearms as activities walk through the gated neighborhood in the Central West End of St. Louis, Mo., on June 28, 2020. Laurie Skrivan/St. Louis Post-Dispatch via AP

Mark McCloskey, the Missouri lawyer who briefly entered the national spotlight last year after pointing a rifle at Black Lives Matter protesters who trespassed near his home, filed formal campaign paperwork to run for the U.S. Senate in Missouri.

McCloskey created a campaign website, which says that he “and his wife, Patty, held off a violent mob through the exercise of their 2nd Amendment rights.

“Since then, they addressed the Republican National Convention, and have been frequent guests on Fox, Newsmax, OAN, CNN and a variety of national and local news and talk TV and radio programs,” the website states. “They campaigned extensively in support of President Trump and continue to speak around the nation on their support of the Constitution, the traditional values that have made the USA the greatest nation on earth, and the current threats to its continued existence.”

McCloskey is the latest entrant in the race to succeed Sen. Roy Blunt (R-Mo.), who is retiring. Former Gov. Eric Greitens and state Attorney General Eric Schmitt are also seeking the nomination.

McCloskey and his wife were indicted on gun and evidence-tampering charges after the video of them brandishing firearms at protesters thrust them into the national news cycle. Republicans rallied behind the couple and the McCloskeys later spoke at the Republican National Convention.

In this screenshot from the RNC's livestream of the 2020 Republican National Convention, Patricia and Mark McCloskey, a couple from St. Louis who pointed guns at Black Lives Matter protesters, addresses the virtual convention in a pre-recorded video that was broadcast on Aug. 24, 2020. Photo Courtesy of the Committee on Arrangements for the 2020 Republican National Committee via Getty Images

“An angry mob marched to destroy my home and kill my family, I took a stand to defend them. I am a proven fighter against the mob. When the mob comes to destroy our home, our state, our nation— I’ll defend it. I will NEVER BACK DOWN,” McCloskey wrote on Twitter after announcing his candidacy.

McCloskey announced his candidacy on Tucker Carlson’s show on Fox News. During the appearance, he said that he’s always been a Republican and that he campaigned on behalf of President Donald Trump.

“The people out there in this country are just sick and tired of cancel culture and the poison of critical race theory and the big lie of systemic racism, all backed up by the threat of mob violence. And people are just sick of it. They don’t want any more posers, and egotists, and career politicians going to DC,” McCloskey told Carlson.

The seat is considered a safe one for the GOP, so the primary winner will likely go on to win the general election. Greitens and Schmitt were virtually tied in a head-to-head poll conducted in March.