virgil

The one that I attached shows the protesters casually walking through an unlocked gate, then immediately (15 seconds later) having guns pointed at them. Doesn't show anyone on their lawn or approaching their home.

And, there are videos online that show the damaged gate. But, I haven't seen anything that establishes when the damage happened- how long after the group first passes through the unlocked gate.

Read the article and check out the videos. The first people that pass through the gate just walked through- it was unlocked(not saying that justifies trespassing). At some point later, it was damaged. 15 seconds after that first person passes through the gate, the couple is shouting and waving guns.

There are a bunch of video clips online from the incident- everyone films everything these days. A few were attached to an article I posted on this thread a few hours ago. Take a look- and read the description of the timeline of events.

agreed.

You're using the couple's statement as your basis for declaring them innocent. The video evidence thus far contradicts their story.

When all the evidence is looked at objectively, it'll be more clear which idiots broke the law. The mayor, AD, governor, AG, and President are all taking political stances for political purposes. The evidence will decide.

Perhaps they should have prepared for the possibility of a conflict by arming themselves, but then wait for the crowd to either just walk by, or present a credible threat. Would the crowd have even stopped in front of their house if the couple didn't come out yelling and waving guns? They were supposedly on their way to the mayor's house. If the crowd makes aggressive moves on them or their house without provocation, then by all means, do what you have to do the protect yourself. But, just walking down a private street, even if they are trespassing, is not a credible enough threat to a person's life or property to justify pointing guns. To your question, should someone be allowed to point a gun at a crowd just because they don't want to wait to see if that crowd is going to be peaceful?

No, that's not at all what I'm saying- that's just how you're misinterpreting and misrepresenting what I'm saying. What I am saying is that the evidence does not match the scenario that you're describing. And, it does not match the couple's statement in the police report. The trespassers did not enter the couple's backyard- they were in the street. And, video evidence suggests that the couple confronted the crowd as they were walking past their house, not encroaching on it.

Oh please. That's the best you can offer? Yes, you got me- I'm a big advocate of mob rule.

For their sake, I hope their lawyers can mount a better defense than you guys. This is the gate they entered through. And, trespassing on private property does not necessarily constitute a serious threat to anyone's life. And, the videos seem to show that the protesters were walking past this house on their way elsewhere when confronted by this couple.

Check out this article and video clips. Seems the homeowners' version of the story regarding breaking down the gate, where the protesters were when they started pointing guns, and what was said and when- doesn't quite match up to the multiple videos. https://www.riverfronttimes.com/newsblog/2020/06/29/couple-who-pointed-guns-at-protesters-release-statement-in-support-of-protesters First protester enters through unlocked gate at the 7 second mark. Protester heard commenting that the homeowners have guns at the 22 second mark. At some point, damage was done to the gate.

This is from an article on Fox' website: In the recent St. Louis case, videos appear to show homeowners Mark and Patricia McCloskey pointing firearms at peaceful protestors walking in a street Sunday evening. However, it was a private street that the protesters reached by passing through a gate, Fox News reported. Does walking down a private street qualify as causing reasonable fear for your life?

Not defending them. You should read the law. I have.

Check the law. Even if they were on private property, the couple still cannot just start pointing guns at them. They need to have reasonable for for their safety to justify their actions. I’m not saying who’s right and who’s wrong yet.

I don’t watch CNN at all. The video I’ve seen doesn’t show the sequence of events. Only shows the crowd yelling and the couple waving guns. If video shows that the crowd was in the street when the couple started pointing guns, the couple is in for trouble. But, at least they’ll always have your support.

That sounds like a pretty objective point of view. Do we know for a fact that the protesters were on the homeowner's property and made threats before guns were pointed at them? Do we just automatically side with gun owners because we're gun owners also?

Don't you want to know what actually happened first? What if it turns out that the protesters were just walking down the street and this couple came out of their house and pointed guns at them? Surely some of the houses in that kind of neighborhood have security cameras that can prove what happened. Why not let the evidence come to light before taking such a strong position on who is wrong and who is right?

I'm not an expert. But, I think that you are still listed as a convicted and pardoned felon. Not sure how that affects a person legally.

Yes. Everyone is just politically posturing now.

Were those things said before or after having guns pointed at them?

Depends on the threat. Were the protesters on their lawn and approaching their house? Did the couple even know that the protesters had broken down the gate? If so, I'd guess they were justified. If not, I'm not sure that you can point guns at people in the street.

Newspaper articles say that video shows the protesters were in the street. Hopefully the homeowners have security cameras that show the protesters on their property.

Were the protesters on their property?

https://www.foxnews.com/health/florida-record-coronavirus-death-hospitals-icu-full Florida hits record one-day death total. 54 ICU's at max capacity. From FoxNews website.