One half of the so-called “Ken and Karen” Republican couple, surely most known for being photographed while pointing guns at protesters in 2020, has announced a Senate run.
On Tuesday, St. Louis attorney Mark McCloskey—the rifle-brandishing “Ken” of the infamous couple—announced his Senate run during an appearance on Tucker Carlson’s Fox News show.
“All we hear is talk, and nothing ever changes,” McCloskey said. “It just seems to be that people have to stand up. Each and every one of us needs to stand up now.”
In a tweet shared that same night, McCloskey described himself as a “proven fighter against the mob” who will “never back down.”
McCloskey was pictured on Tuesday with a shirt carefully unbuttoned to reveal a cross necklace, all while standing against an edited backdrop of what appears to be welding sparks and the U.S. Constitution. In a campaign video, McCloskey also touched on the usual Trumpublican talking points, so-called “cancel culture” and “the lie of systemic racism” among them.
In October of last year, Mark and Patricia McCloskey were indicted by a grand jury after being seen displaying guns (an AR-15 and a semiautomatic handgun, respectively) as hundreds of protesters marched in support of racial justice. At the time, Circuit Attorney Kim Gardner said displaying guns risked violence during what was otherwise a peaceful gathering. In addition to felony unlawful use of a weapon charges, the indictment included a tampering with evidence count. Earlier in 2020, the McCloskeys appeared as featured guests at the Republican National Convention.
The couple, in an unfortunately predictable move, essentially became celebrities in the eyes of many Republicans last year. And given the current state of American politics, it’s not exactly shocking that McCloskey would attempt to parlay that into a position of perceived power. His Senate run announcement, however, is still a cause for concern:
