A video had recorded them barefoot on the lawn of their glitzy home in Missouri, USA, brandishing their guns and shouting at Black Lives Matter protesters.
It was June 28, 2020, on the occasion of a peaceful march against racism and police abuse.
Mark and Patricia McCloskey, both lawyers, pleaded guilty last month to assault for him, and harassment for her.
They had been fined $ 750 and $ 2,000 respectively by a St. Louis court.
The couple were originally charged with misuse of weapons.
Missouri Governor Mike Parson granted pardons to Mark and Patricia McCloskey, the St. Louis couple who drew international attention for brandishing guns at racial justice protesters last year https://t.co/PnysjJwD9X pic.twitter.com/LVzFG6OVje
- Reuters (@Reuters) August 4, 2021
But the two Americans have just been pardoned of their convictions for crimes related to the event, announced on Tuesday the governor's office of Missouri, a conservative state in the center of the country.
Republican Governor Mike Parson granted the couple a pardon last week, after promising them such a gesture at the start of their legal woes.
Still, there was no evidence that the couple were threatened by protesters, as Mark McCloskey carried a semi-automatic rifle, and Patricia McCloskey waved a pistol.
"It is illegal to brandish weapons in a threatening manner at those participating in a nonviolent protest," St. Louis prosecutor Kimberly Gardner said in a statement when the couple was charged last year.
Symbol of the gap between whites and African Americans
The McCloskeys had become a symbol of the rift between conservative white Americans and African Americans demanding justice.
State conservatives are ardent supporters of the conduct of the couple, who were erected as heroes of the conservative cause in last year's presidential election.
They predicted that the Democrats would take away their gun rights from Americans.
"Make no mistake: no matter where you live, your family will not be safe in the America of radical Democrats," Patricia McCloskey said in a video made in support of Donald Trump.
Last May, Mark McCloskey announced he was campaigning to become a Missouri senator in Congress. In an election video, he highlights the event, while accentuating the supposed threat the couple faced. “When a surly horde came to destroy my house and kill my family, I stood up against them,” he said, before adding, “I will never back down. "