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A white couple who pointed guns at protesters in St Louis has said they were threatened as crowds marched down their street. Video shared online showed 63-year-old Mark McCloskey and 61-year-old Patricia McCloskey stationed on the lawn outside their St Louis home on Sunday night as protesters walked past. McCloskey, who was seen with a long-barrel gun, could be heard shouting as some 500 people marched towards the mayor’s house to demand her resignation. US President Donald Trump, who has criticized Black Lives Matter demonstrations, shared the video on Monday, without comment. McCloskey told local news outlet KMOV-TV that he and his wife, who are personal injury lawyers, feared for their lives as an angry mob walked down their private street.

McCloskey said, “It was like the storming of the Bastille, the gate came down and a large crowd of angry, aggressive people poured through. I was terrified that we’d be murdered within seconds. Our house would be burned down, our pets would be killed”. Point to be noted that the 63-year-old said he phoned 911 when he heard the crowd approaching Portland Place, the private community where he lives in the city’s Central West End neighborhood. She added, “A mob of at least 100 smashed through the historic wrought iron gates of Portland Place, destroying them, rushed towards my home where my family was having dinner outside and put us in fear for our lives”. It was not clear whether or not demonstrators destroyed or removed the gate at Portland Place, in spite of those comments.

It is noteworthy that St Louis couple also claimed that some protesters had threatened them and said “You’re next”, whilst armed with pistols. Police said that whilst investigations into the matter continued, the case had been labeled as trespassing and assault by intimidation. Protest organizer Rasheen Aldridge informed CBS that Sunday’s march had been peaceful and no threats were ever made. The McCloskeys’ lawyer, Albert Watkins, said in a statement on Monday night. She said, “The peaceful protesters were not the subject of scorn or disdain by the McCloskeys. The most important thing for them is that their images holding the guns don’t become the basis for a rallying cry for people who oppose the Black Lives Matter message.