The circuit attorney for the city of St. Louis has been disqualified from prosecuting Mark and Patricia McCloskey, a local couple facing felony charges after defending their home with weapons when protesters marched through their neighborhood in June, according to reports.
The content of some campaign fundraising emails by Circuit Attorney Kim Gardner infringed on the McCloskeys’ right to receive a fair trial, Circuit Judge Thomas Clark II ruled Thursday, according to the St. Louis Post Dispatch.
Gardner’s emails suggested that by charging the McCloskeys in July, she appeared to have “initiated a criminal prosecution for political purposes,” the judge wrote, according to the newspaper.
“Like a needle pulling thread, she links the defendant and his conduct to her critics,” Clark wrote. “These emails are tailored to use the June 28 incident to solicit money by positioning her against defendant and her more vocal critics.”
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It was clear prosecutorial abuse... Pat Gardner needs to be disbarred not simply taken off the case. She used her office for political and ideological purposes and violated the public trust.