RNC live: Trump to speak at every night of convention alongside family members and supporters

Speaker Charlie Kirk says president is ‘the bodyguard of western civilization’Republicans nominate Trump for re-electionSign up to our First Thing newsletter 2.51am BST Mark and Patricia McCloskey, the St Louis couple who pointed guns at Black Lives Matter protesters, spoke at the Republican convention.The couple baselessly accused Democrats of “protecting criminals from honest citizens” and trying to “abolish the suburbs.” 2.50am BST My colleague Lois Beckett wrote about Mark and Patricia McCloskey, who just spoke at the RNC, back in July, when they pointed guns at peaceful protestors: Video on social media showed the armed couple standing outside their home in the Central West End neighborhood, shouting at protesters. People in the march moved the crowd forward, urging participants to ignore them.According to a statement, Mark McCloskey confronted protesters with a semi-automatic rifle, screamed at them and pointed the weapon at them. The statement said Patricia McCloskey then emerged with a semi-automatic handgun, yelling at protesters to “go” and pointing the gun at them. Protesters feared “being injured due to Patricia McCloskey’s finger being on the trigger, coupled with her excited demeanor”, the statement said.Gardner said she has received death threats in the wake of the comments about her by Republican lawmakers, and compared the attacks against her to violent threats by the Ku Klux Klan in an interview with the Washington Post last week.“This is a modern-day night ride, and everybody knows it,” Gardner told the Washington Post, referring to the Ku Klux Klan’s tactics of intimidation towards Black Americans. “And for a president to participate in it, in the larger context of racism and cronyism, is scary.” Related: White St Louis couple who pointed guns at protesters to face charges Continue reading…
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