Closed down in the past, beset by US lawman (6)
I believe the answer is:
folded
'closed down' is the definition.
('fold' can be a synonym of 'close down')
'past beset by us lawman' is the wordplay.
I cannot really see how this works, but
'past' could be 'old' (old is a kind of past) and 'old' is found within the answer.
'lawman' could be 'fed' (fed can informally mean a federal agent) and 'fed' is found within the remaining letters.
This accounts for all the letters.
This explanation may well be incorrect...
'in the' is the link.
Can you help me to learn more?
(Other definitions for folded that I've seen before include "Bent over or doubled up" , "Bent so that one part covers the other" .)