ST. LOUIS (KMOX) - Mark McCloskey announced his candidacy for the U.S. Senate in a video that was posted to YouTube, but quickly deleted.
The 63-year old personal injury lawyer who made headlines last summer when he and his wife Patricia stood on their lawn with guns to protect themselves from protestors marching past their home has been considering a run for months. He announced on Twitter Tuesday that he'll be going on Fox News with Tucker Carlson to make a "huge announcement" tonight at 7:30 p.m.
The YouTube video, which was quickly taken down, was a two-minute monologue by McCloskey about "the mob" he stood up to in front of his home and other problems he hopes to address.
"I think in the past year so many of the basic freedoms of this country have been taken away and eroded," McCloskey told KMOX in April when considering a run, "The Constitution has been trampled on. Under the pretext of Covid-19, dictatorial-type edicts have been arisen all over the country and in the local area, unsupported by fact or law, and persist beyond any reasonable time."
KMOX recorded some of the video before it was taken down.
In the August 2022 primary, he will face Missouri Attorney General Eric Schmitt and former Missouri Governor Eric Greitens, who have both declared their candidacy for the senate seat of retiring Senator Roy Blunt. Republican Congresswoman Ann Wanger is also considering jumping in the race.
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Meanwhile, gun charges filed against the McCloskeys by St. Louis Circuit Attorney Kim Gardner are still unresolved. They were charged with unlawful use of a weapon and evidence tampering in connection with the front lawn incident.
The case is now in the hands of a court-appointed Special Prosecutor, after Gardner was barred from the case because of a conflict of interest.
Former U.S. Attorney Richard Callahan will serve as the Special Prosecutor. The McCloskey's lawyer has filed a motion asking that a new grand jury be seated to reconsider whether the charges Gardner filed are supported by the evidence.