The last time we saw Mark and Patricia McCloskey, they had cleaned themselves up to give an impassioned re-branding speech at the Republican National Convention. In that speech they warned America that the Democratic Party would “abolish suburbs.” Very on-brand for the couple whose singular claim to fame is coming outside of their expensive St. Louis home to threaten peaceful Black Lives Matter protesters with guns. They received some felony charges for that.
Now, WTHR 13 reports that the St. Louis duo, who are still facing those felony charges, have filed a lawsuit against a photographer whom they claim “trespassed to capture an image of the confrontation.” The one where the McCloskeys came out of the home with guns and threatened the peaceful protesters. That confrontation. Why are they suing this photographer?
Well, the aggro Missouri marital team say that United Press International (UPI) photographer Bill Greenblatt’s images have added to the "significant national recognition and infamy” of the two McCloskeys. According to the McCloskeys, among other issues, Greenblatt’s photos have been used in Redbubble merchandising of t-shirts and coffee mugs, using their likeness without consent. More importantly, the couple says that these images and their accompanying meme-ing has caused them "humiliation, mental anguish, and severe emotional distress."
The St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports that the lawsuit also casts the couple as the real victims here, alleging that the photographer and press agency “acted outrageously and beyond all reasonable bounds of decency, with their conduct regarded as atrocious and intolerable by any member of a civilized society.” The couple is looking for the image to cease being used in any capacity, as well as demanding damages.
Being a bunch of litigious snowflakes is very much a part of the McCloskey family crest. They have a long history of being tremendous assholes, horrific neighbors, and legal bullies.