Two St. Louis attorneys went viral late Sunday after videos and photos circulated on social media showing the lawyers pointing firearms at Black Lives Matter protesters.
According to the Riverfront Times, demonstrators were marching through a wealthy Central West End neighborhood to demand the resignation of Mayor Lyda Krewson, who drew backlash after revealing the personal information of city residents who advocate for defunding the police.
Video showed the personal injury lawyers shout and point their firearms at the demonstrators, who had forced their way into the private, gated community.
A couple has come out of their house and is pointing guns at protesters in their neighborhood #StLouis #lydakrewson https://t.co/ZJ8a553PAU— Daniel Shular (@Daniel Shular) 1593390446.0
A St. Louis couple in front of their home tonight as protesters marched past in the city’s Central West End. (photo… https://t.co/EIvDbCTWrh— Casey Nolen (@Casey Nolen) 1593397636.0
Another video, taken from a livestream, showed the crowd of people enter the private street, which is technically trespassing.
In this livestream footage you can clearly see the STL black lives matter mob entered through the gate to a private… https://t.co/Wf2TAk6XH7— Cassandra Fairbanks (@Cassandra Fairbanks) 1593399265.0
Video showed that protesters sought to de-escalate tensions by urging other demonstrators to keep moving and ignore the firearm-wielding couple.
The crowd of demonstrators that marched through the private neighborhood numbered approximately 500, the Associated Press reported.
After the incident went viral, the attorneys' names were published online and there were calls for the lawyers to be criminally charged.
"A fellow lawyer from Missouri, a guy I know named Mark McCloskey committed an assault tonight in STL by pointing his AR 15 at peaceful protesters. He should be arrested and charged with assault immediately. The MO Bar should revoke their licenses," Don Calloway wrote on Twitter.
Another lawyer claimed the attorneys broke a Missouri law prohibiting exhibiting "any weapon readily capable of lethal use in an angry or threatening manner."