st. Louis couple called mark and
Patricia McCluskey became folk heroes to
many across the country after they were
confronted by a mob a dangerous mob
outside their home and returned with
firearms to protect it and themselves
you
[Music]
[Applause]
this is what you were taught to do
it's what generations of Americans have
done it's the most basic right of all
the right of self-defense
the McCluskey's exercised that right and
now they're coming close to being
destroyed they stood up for themselves
against the mob the McCluskey's fate
remains in the hands of the mob in the
form of the st. Louis Circuit Attorney
General Kimberly Gardner Gardner is a
radical prosecutor one of many elected
in recent years with financial backing
from billionaire George Soros in 2019
Gardner brought criminal charges in just
23 percent of the cases the st. Louis
police brought her her policies have
helped destroy that office the st. Louis
Circuit Attorney's Office since she took
over the prosecutor turnover there has
surpassed 100 percent Gardner's reaction
to any criticism about this never
changes alleged racial conspiracy
against her and then move on at the
start of this year Gardner sued the
local police union and several city
officials accusing them of quote a
racially motivated conspiracy to deny
the civil rights of minorities she
charged them under the Ku Klux Klan act
as if after riots ripped through
countless American cities Gardner was
clear about who she supported in it all
I've noticed that the Attorney General
is tweeting quite a bit about looters
and rioters and not about the fact that
we have a history of police violence in
the city and nation and that has caused
people to take to the streets yet again
to demand for accountability and change
in our criminal justice system how dare
you be angry about looting and crimes
when the police are still out there
enforcing the law after the McCluskey's
defended themselves Gardner finally
found a crime she cares about she
promised to have them punished
if she could I am disturbed by the
events that occurred over this weekend
where there were peaceful protesters who
are met with guns and a violent assault
we must protect the rights to peacefully
protest and any attempts to chill it
through intimidation or use of force
will not be tolerated since learning of
these events over this weekend I work
with the public and the police to
investigate these tragic events I will
use every extent of Missouri law to hold
individuals accountable mark Borkowski
joins us st. along with his attorney
Albert Watkins mr. clusky first to you
thanks so much for coming on and I'm
glad you're on because you will tell
your own story rather than having it
told for you by ideologues described for
us if you would why you believed you and
your wife were threatened by these 300
people in your yard well Tucker you've
got it you got to understand my house
it's right on the edge of a road called
Kings Highway and our private place is
Portland Place where my wife and I were
preparing to have dinner maybe 70 feet
from the gate by the time we looked up
we saw the marchers coming down Kings
hiring getting loud we looked over at
the gate and there's no police there our
private security wasn't there nobody's
there and I look over at my wife and I
see all these people outside the gate
and then the gate bursts open people
start coming in and then a flood of
people start coming in they're angry
they're screaming they've got spittle
coming out of their mouths they're
coming towards a house and you know I'm
June the 2nd of this year the the
protests in downtown st. Louis went
violent instantly people the looting and
violence and rioting I watched on live
TV the 7-eleven in downtown st. Louis
from the moment the first window was
broken throughout the looting process
but all the fire we started and then
till a fire fully engaged the building
and nobody came that entire time I
looked over my wife and I said oh my god
were absolutely alone there's nobody
here to protect us about us that is the
same night retired police captain David
Doran was murdered when I saw that mob
come through the gate with a rage and
their and their anger I thought that we
would be overrun in a second by the time
I was out there with my
rifle the people were 20 or 30 feet from
my front wall I've got a low wall that
separates the house from from my front
yard and so I was I was literally afraid
and that within seconds they would
surmount the wall come into the house
kill us burn the house down and
everything that I'd worked for and
struggled for for the last 32 years
Tucker I lived out in West st. Louis
County in a nice secure neighborhood 32
years ago we moved into the city and and
took on a project to restore a house
that nobody else wanted and you know
where we were
urban pioneers in those days and we've
been there ever since working to build
and maintain st. Louis in this in this
very historic neighborhood and I did I
saw it all going up in flames in my life
destroyed in an instant and I did what I
thought I had to do to protect my hearth
my home and my family well no one was
protecting you and they were screaming
at you and threatening you and
threatening to murder your dog and harm
you and your wife what do you make of
the attacks on you for doing what we
used to believe every homeowner had an
obligation to do why are they denounced
you're racist I don't understand and you
know here's here's the interesting thing
I spent my career defending people that
are defenseless for people that are
having a hard time making their miracle
happen for people that don't have a
voice my black clients loved us the
night that this happened I had some of
our black clients calling us up till
2:30 in the morning telling us how wrong
it was the way the press was writing us
up telling how wrong it was that we
should be portrayed as racist this is
what I do for a living I help people
that are down and the Donita hand and
the people that need a voice to call us
racists is ridiculous and that had
nothing to do with race I wasn't worried
what the race was or this of these the
mob that came through my gate I was
worried that I was going to be killed I
didn't care what race they were it's
disgusting very quickly mr. Watkins do
you think that the McCluskey's faced the
risk of being prosecuted in this well
given the fact that we have a political
animal in the
an attorney's office there is a risk if
the law prevails long-standing Missouri
law prevails they're fine
yeah boy we're certainly rooting for you
this is really a revealing moment and a
travesty I hope you're I'm glad you're
well thank you for coming on tonight
Watkins thank you