A white St Louis couple who brandished guns at Black Lives Matter protesters outside their home in June have been given a prominent speaking slot at the Republican National Convention, repeating unfounded claims by President Donald Trump that Democrats will destroy America's suburbs.
Speaking amid new protests over the police shooting of a black man in Wisconsin, Mark and Patricia McCloskey, who face felony weapons charges for threatening protesters with guns, said US neighbourhoods would be overrun by crime and lawlessness if Democrat Joe Biden wins in November.
"No matter where you live, your family will not be safe in the radical Democrats' America," Patricia McCloskey said on Monday.
That message follows repeated allegations by Mr Trump, as part of his "law-and-order" campaign, that vengeful "mobs" are tearing down Democratic-run cities.
The McCloskeys, both in their early sixties, were charged with felony unlawful use of weapons. No shots were fired and no one was injured in the incident.
In one recent tweet, Mr Trump - keen to win back the votes of white, college-educated women - declared that "suburban housewives" wanted safety and that a Democrat in the White House would bring chaos to neighbourhoods.
Mr Biden has decried violent protests and has resisted activist calls to "defund the police". Instead, he says his focus is on ending systematic racism inside law enforcement agencies.
Armed homeowners Mark and Patricia McCloskey, confront Black Lives Matter protesters in St Louis. Source: St. Louis Post-Dispatch
The McCloskeys, both lawyers, shouted at protesters and pointed weapons including a semi-automatic rifle at the demonstrators, who appeared unarmed as they marched by their home.
On Monday, they criticised authorities for charging them but no one among what they called an "out-of-control mob". They have said they were within their rights to defend their property.
Mr Trump previously called the charges against them a "disgrace".
