Missouri Governor Mike Parson on Tuesday announced that he has pardoned the McCloskey couple who recently pleaded guilty to several misdemeanor charges after they wielded guns last year to defend their home from activists who walked through their private, gated neighborhood. The McCloskeys were two among 12 people who were granted clemency on Friday. “Governor Parson has instructed his legal team to continue reviewing clemency files and working to reduce the backlog inherited by his administration,” according to a statement from Parson’s office. The governor had said last year that he would “without a doubt” pardon the couple when they were dealt felony charges by St. Louis Circuit Attorney Kimberly Gardner, calling the felony charges “outrageous.” Gardner was later removed from a role in the McCloskeys’ case after a judge in late 2020 ruled that she appeared to have started prosecution against the two for political purposes. Mark and Patricia McCloskey, both personal injury lawyers, pleaded not guilty …