As protests for racial justice swept the nation last summer, former President Donald Trump and his Republican allies leapt to characterize protesters as looters, rioters, and threats to suburbia.
Mark and Patricia McCloskey fell for it.
When a group of protesters peacefully marched through the McCloskeys' ritzy St. Louis neighborhood, the couple emerged from their home with firearms, including an assault weapon. They pointed the weapons at the protesters and threatened to shoot.
Watch below.
St. Louis Couple Points Guns At Protesters Passing Their Housewww.youtube.com
Naturally, the McCloskeys were embraced by conservatives for threatening protesters. Naturally, the couple was invited to speak at the Republican National Convention that year, and now Mark McCloskey is running to represent Missouri in the United States Senate.
In his campaign ad, McCloskey absurdly claims the "angry mob" was coming to destroy his home and kill his family. He goes on to claim the left wants to destroy "our culture" and "our heritage."
But a Democratic hopeful for the Missouri Senate seat, Lucas Kunce, recently mocked McCloskey for his paranoia in a recent ad.
Watch below.
In the video, Kunce cocks an AR-15, aims it, then lowers it, saying:
"You know what? Forget it. I don't have to do this type of thing... Stunts like that, those are for those clowns on the other side, like that 'Mansion Man' Mark McCloskey. If you don't remember who I'm talking about, he's that guy who got his 15 minutes of fame waving one of these weapons of war around at a bunch of people walking by his mansion, and now he thinks that qualifies himself to be a U.S. Senator."
He goes on to note that McCloskey's stunt got him charged for misuse of a weapon, and offers to give McCloskey a "U.S. Marine-led weapons training class" if he apologized to the protesters he threatened.
Kunce labeled McCloskey as:
"Mansion Man Mark."
People welcomed Kunce's trolling.
LOVE IT!https://twitter.com/LucasKunceMO/status/1402672727534735373\u00a0\u2026— FerociousVeganActivist (@FerociousVeganActivist) 1623261238
Pretty, pretty good.https://twitter.com/lucaskuncemo/status/1402672727534735373\u00a0\u2026— Schooley (@Schooley) 1623264600
Brilliant.https://twitter.com/LucasKunceMO/status/1402672727534735373\u00a0\u2026— Did you get vaccinated? (@Did you get vaccinated?) 1623272713
Great video -- wish I could vote for this Democratic candidate for a U.S. senate seat in Missouri. He calls out the sick Republican fetish for guns, and as a former Marine, he's in an excellent position to do so.https://twitter.com/LucasKunceMO/status/1402672727534735373\u00a0\u2026— Steve Pfarrer (@Steve Pfarrer) 1623331798
Donate to this guy. I did.https://twitter.com/LucasKunceMO/status/1402672727534735373\u00a0\u2026— Jenifer Kay Hood (@Jenifer Kay Hood) 1623278812
McCloskey's ad—released last month—wasn't as well received.
McClosky needs money for his legal battle against his felony charges and because he\u2019s a community outcast now. They didn\u2019t even like him or his business before he was arrested, and that gave the community the reason to give him the cut direct. \n\n#CampaignFraud— \ud83d\udc3eMask Up Buttercup\ud83d\udc3e (@\ud83d\udc3eMask Up Buttercup\ud83d\udc3e) 1621423502
you didn\u2019t fight you just stood there and got mad at nothing— justin L! cousson (@justin L! cousson) 1621387771
"Hi. You know me as the lunatic who threatened to rain hellfire on people for walking past his literal palace. I'm a humble farmer now please give me power."— V\u1d07\u0280\u0274 wrote a horror novel (@V\u1d07\u0280\u0274 wrote a horror novel) 1621396081
The state is considered solid Republican, so Kunce faces an uphill battle in the crowded field of candidates.
Jane Rosenberg
Jane Rosenberg
@arianagrande/Instagram
@arianagrande/Instagram