 Three months later, he and Dirty Face Jack assisted Rynders in instigating the Astor Place Riot in which an Irish-American mob chased British actor William Charles Macready from the Astor Opera House.He was among several prominent sportsmen who supported Rynders when, in the autumn of 1850, he announced his intention to become active in the Sixth Ward and run for the state assembly.McCleester was present along with Bill Ford, Tom Maguire and Hen Chenfrau when Rynders attended the primary meeting at Dooley's Long Room with "hundreds of the captain's friends".