ST. LOUIS (KMOX) - The special prosecutor appointed to the McCloskey case is amending charges against Patricia McCloskey.
Richard Callahan issued a statement Tuesday saying he would add the misdemeanor charge of harassment against the woman seen in the now-famous photo pointing a gun at Black Lives Matter protesters last June in front of her Central West End home. That charge would replace a count of unlawful use of a weapon. The amendment would also drop evidence tampering charges.
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Callahan said the harassment comes after a review of material gathered by St. Louis Circuit Attorney Kim Gardner before her office was disqualified from the case. Callahan says he is "building on the detailed work done by Kim Gardner’s office before my appointment."
The statement says 62-year-old Patricia McCloskey waved a gun at protesters, "Without good cause, and with the purpose to cause emotional distress." The change, essentially, would give a jury the option of convicting the woman on a lesser misdemeanor if they don't feel her actions rise to the level of a felony.
It has yet to be determined if the change in charges will be extended to the husband, Mark McCloskey.
“A similar decision will be made regarding Mark McCloskey in the coming days,” according to the statement. Both husband and wife were indicted in October before a judge ruled the Circuit Attorney improperly used their case in her reelection campaign material.
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