ST. LOUIS (KMOX) — Missouri Senator Josh Hawley has written a letter to U.S. Attorney General William Barr, calling on a civil rights investigation into St. Louis's Circuit Attorney. Hawley claims Gardner is "targeting" the McCloskey family for using firearms to defend themselves. Hawley also says Gardner has abused her power in seizing their guns.
The letter, which you can read here, reads in part:
"This is an unacceptable abuse of power and threat to the Second Amendment, and I urge you to consider a federal civil rights investigation into the St. Louis Circuit Attorney's Office to determine whether this investigation and impending prosecution violates this family's constitutional rights. There is no question under Missouri law that the McCloskeys had the right to own and use their firearms to protect themselves from threatened violence, and that any criminal prosecution for these actions is legally unsound. The only possible motivation for the investigation, then, is a politically motivated attempt to punish this family for exercising their Second Amendment rights."
Related: St. Louis police present case against McCloskey couple
Related: Missouri governor, President Trump discuss McCloskey couple
As KMOX reported this week, Governor Mike Parson and President Donald Trump have also pledged their support for the Central West End couple, who have not yet been charged.
This morning I have asked the Department of Justice to open a civil rights investigation into the St Louis Circuit Attorneys Office. Targeting law abiding citizens who exercise constitutionally protected rights for investigation & prosecution is an abuse of power https://t.co/lg9GbisWgd
— Josh Hawley (@HawleyMO) July 16, 2020 KMOX reached out to Kim Gardner's office and received this statement:"I am deeply disappointed that a U.S. Senator would intervene in a local matter that is under investigation."
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