We’re going to transfer our coverage from this live blog, which is now wrapping up, to a new live blog being started by my colleage Oliver Laughland (@oliverlaughland). Here’s a summary of where things stand:
- A small number of protesters had returned to the streets in Ferguson, Missouri, as darkness began to fall. Activists called for continued rallies in solidarity with Michael Brown.
- Significant protest activity was under way in other cities as well, including Philadelphia, Cleveland, Minneapolis and Atlanta. Organizers said more than 100 protests were planned nationwide.
- Suspended Ferguson police officer Darren Wilson, who killed the unarmed teenager Michael Brown in August, sat for an interview with ABC News that was expected to air shortly.
- Missouri officials vowed that Tuesday night would not see a repeat of Monday’s violence, which Governor Jay Nixon called “unacceptable”.
- Nixon said hundreds of national guardsmen would be added to the streets. “Our community not only needs to be safe, they need to feel safe,” he said.
- The family of Michael Brown called for “constructive” and peaceful protests.
- Family representatives attacked a grand jury decision announced Monday not to prosecute Wilson, saying the process was “completely unfair.”
- Speaking on behalf of the family, the Rev. Al Sharpton advised that a federal investigation of the case was ongoing.
- Police said a dozen businesses were burned in Ferguson overnight and 61 were arrested.
- A homicide inquiry was under way in Ferguson after a man was found dead in a car with reported burns and gunshot wounds.
Updated
Here are some of those guardsmen, via a Wall Street Journal reporter:
Line of Guardsmen in front of Ferguson PD. All wearing MP branch designators, only a few with combat patches. pic.twitter.com/OBcnzuegDu
— Ben Kesling (@bkesling) November 25, 2014
France’s black justice minister Christiane Taubira has waded into the conflict over racially charged killings in the US, quoting reggae legend Bob Marley on Twitter to express her anger, AFP reports:
“Kill them before they grow,” the minister tweeted, citing Marley who sang the phrase in his 1973 hit song I Shot the Sheriff.
Taubira’s tweet came as riots erupted in the suburb of Ferguson outside St Louis.
The grand jury decision further fuelled racial tensions in the US after Cleveland police shot dead 12-year-old Tamir Rice, who was waving around what turned out to be a toy gun on a playground.
“How old was Mickael (sic) Brown? 18. Trayvon Martin? 17. Tamir Rice? 12. How old next? 12 month? ’Kill them before they grow’ Bob Marley,” Taubira tweeted in English.
Read the full piece here.
Two national guardsmen walk into a boarded up (but open) branch of Save A Lot in #Ferguson. Picture by @paullewisreporter:
A homicide inquiry was under way in Ferguson, Missouri, on Tuesday after a man was found dead in a car with reported burns and gunshot wounds near the site of Michael Brown’s death, the Guardian’s Jon Swaine (@jonswaine) reports (see earlier):
The death was classified as suspicious and detectives from St Louis County’s crimes against persons unit were investigating, according to a statement from officer Rick Eckhard, a spokesman for the county force.
The man was named by relatives and local residents as DeAndre Joshua.
It was not immediately clear whether the death was related to the chaotic response to a Missouri grand jury’s decision not to indict the police officer involved in Brown’s death.
Read the full piece here.
Video: National Guard not deployed in time on Monday night, says Ferguson mayor James Knowles
“I’m confident our folks are trained and ready for the task at hand,” Nixon says. “I think what people want is peace. What they want is safety. We’ve got to get through to that point... to make sure that the people of this region on their streets ... feel comfortable walking around with their families, walking around with their kids.”
The governor is done.
Nixon said about 700 guardsmen were deployed “in the region” Monday “doing a lot of static work”, including some deployed to the Ferguson police department later in the night.
“We’ll have a significant number out tonight,” working in shifts, Nixon says.
“We’re going to continue to up their numbers here and work with the unified command to make sure we keep things calm and safe.”
National guard and state highway representatives follow Nixon and vow that “last night will not be repeated.”
Police chief Jon Belmar is now speaking. “Our community not only needs to be safe, they need to feel safe,” he says.
Dan Isom, the director of public safety for the state, says “last night was a disappointment, a disappointment in so many ways.”
Governor Nixon: criminals 'terrorized this community'
The Missouri governor is speaking.
“Last night criminals intent on lawlessnes and destruction terrorized this community,” he says.
“I am deeply saddened for the people of Ferguson who woke up this morning” to see parts of the city “in ruins.”
“What they’ve gone through is unacceptable. No one should have to live like this. No one deserves this.
All agree that the violence we saw in Ferguson last night cannot be repeated.
“The national guard presence will be ramped up significantly,” Nixon says. He says hundreds of additional guardsman have been called up, and “there will be more than 2,200 guardsman in the region,” he says.
Local KSDK tweets a line from Michael Brown Sr, apparently from an interview this afternoon. “We’re still hurting,” Brown says:
Mike Brown Sr:"This is a bad time for everyone.We're still hurting.I feel like they just killed him again." #Ferguson pic.twitter.com/f0bHtnobyD
— Christina Coleman (@ChristinaKSDK) November 25, 2014
Video: UN secretary general Ban Ki-moon calls for calm in Ferguson, Missouri
St Louis City Hall is on lockdown, according to the president of the board of alderman:
City Hall is currently on lock down. No details on when gates will be reopened. Call before you come. pic.twitter.com/Fa2zNpOydU
— Lewis E. Reed (@PresReed) November 25, 2014
More now from Ferguson Mayor James Knowles’ remarks to the press. Knowles said that no decision had been made regarding the employment as a city police officer of Darren Wilson.
And here’s more of Knowles’ criticism of the governor for what he called “the decision to delay the deployment of the national guard” (via AP):
“The decision to delay the deployment of the National Guard is deeply concerning,” Knowles told a news conference. “We are asking that the governor make available and deploy all necessary resources to prevent the further destruction of property and the preservation of life in the city of Ferguson.”
A group called the national Ferguson response network is tracking plans for new protests nationwide to call for justice for Michael Brown. CNN has counted 120 such planned protests.
http://t.co/13GlPh89nn 175 cities - JUST ADDED #evanston #okc #westport #santabarbara #SanJuan #puertorico #morristown #northcharleston
— BiggerThanAGrandJury (@LeslieMac) November 25, 2014
(h/t @SarahEvonne)
Mayor criticizes National Guard response
Ferguson Mayor James Knowles on Tuesday called the decision to delay the deployment of national guard troops to the city “deeply disturbing.”
Knowles criticized what he said was a delay in the deployment of National Guard troops in Ferguson. The comments came shortly before Missouri governor Jay Nixon was scheduled to hold a news conference. Here’s the AP:
FERGUSON, Mo. (AP) _ #Ferguson mayor criticizes what he calls delayed deployment of National Guard during protests.
— Ken Thomas (@KThomasDC) November 25, 2014
Updated
Police in helmets and armour advance on protesters on a road in downtown St Louis:
Threatening and advancing on us. https://t.co/sq7HAmvATF
— BrownBlaze (@brownblaze) November 25, 2014
Faith leaders in Ferguson are holding a news conference to oppose violence in the community. “We want to stand in solidarity and say we condemn those acts” of violence, the Rev. Timothy Woods says. Watch here: Update: the conference is over.
Updated
Missouri Governor Jay Nixon will hold a 4pm ET news conference with state and local law enforcement officials and leaders of the Missouri National Guard to talk about preparations for possible protests Tuesday evening, Nixon’s office has announced.
Here’s a video clip from today’s news conference with representatives of the Brown family, in which attorney Benjamin Crump calls the grand jury process “completely unfair”:
George Stephanopoulos of ABC News has gone on air to describe his interview with Darren Wilson (update: but he does not air a clip). Stephanopoulos said he interviewed Wilson at a “secret location.”
Wilson said he did not shoot at Brown’s back. He said Brown “charged toward” Wilson, Stephanopoulos reports.
Wilson said he was sorry but would not do anything different that day, because he was doing his job, Stephanopoulos reports.
He has a clean conscience and would not do anything differently, Stephanopoulos reports. “He says he did what he was trained to do.”
Updated
There’s a protest outside the federal courthouse in downtown St Louis:
Blood and bodies on the street in front of the federal courthouse now. #stl #ferguson pic.twitter.com/dF7j6hcBgw
— MCU St. Louis (@MCUStLouis) November 25, 2014
We will not be silent! #stl #ferguson #fergusonfaith pic.twitter.com/ImzmMjDYnU
— MCU St. Louis (@MCUStLouis) November 25, 2014
Updated
ABC News interviews Darren Wilson
As rumored, ABC News’ George Stephanopoulos procured an interview with officer Darren Wilson.
Just finished a more than hourlong interview with Officer Darren Wilson. No question off limits. pic.twitter.com/BrD4e39ABg
— GeorgeStephanopoulos (@GStephanopoulos) November 25, 2014
update:
TV nets sometimes find $$$ ways to "win" exclusive interviews. But not Darren Wilson: ABCer says "No payment, no licensing, no NOTHING."
— Brian Stelter (@brianstelter) November 25, 2014
Updated
Russia, China and other authoritarian regimes around the world reacted to violent protests in Ferguson with thinly disguised glee and schadenfreude on Tuesday, our correspondents report:
Russia’s “human rights ombudsman” Konstantin Dolgov, meanwhile,fired off a series of tweets accusing the US administration of hypocrisy and serial failure.
He observed: “Racial and ethnic tensions continue to rise in US society. It’s about time the US authorities paid attention to this rather than focusing on lecturing the rest of the world on human rights.”
China’s foreign ministry also took the opportunity to poke Washington in the eye. Its spokeswoman Hua Chunying initially described the trouble, which began after a grand jury refused to prosecute a white police officer for the shooting of a black teenager, as an internal US affair. She then went on to hint, however, that the US might be better served by a little humility: “I would like to say that there’s no such thing as perfection when it comes to human rights regardless of whatever country you’re in,” Hua said. She added: “We have to improve the record of human rights and promote the cause of human rights. We can learn from each other in this area.”
Read the full piece here.
Missouri governor: 'violence last night unacceptable'
Missouri Governor Jay Nixon has announced there will be more National Guard members in St Louis Tuesday night. Nixon called the violence Monday “unacceptable”:
Statement from Gov. Jay Nixon condemning "unacceptable" violence. pic.twitter.com/lah3gN6KY0
— Matt Pearce (@mattdpearce) November 25, 2014
LeBron James, Serena Williams and Kobe Bryant are among the athletes to have publicly objected to the decision not to indict police officer Darren Wilson, the Guardian’s Tom Lutz writes.
Wow. Just wow. Shameful. What will it take???
— Serena Williams (@serenawilliams) November 25, 2014
Also weighing in: Solange, Alicia Keys, Spike Lee (below) and others you can read about here.
Summary
Here’s a summary of the news conference, which appears really to be over this time:
- Brown family representatives called the grand jury process “completely unfair” and urged the federal government to bring a case against officer Darren Wilson.
- No one from the Brown family spoke. Michael Brown Sr., the victim’s father, chose not to speak to avoid an expression of raw emotion that could be incendiary, said a family attorney.
- The speakers said the state grand jury process turned out to be as flawed as they expected. They said evidence showed a lack of cross-examination and revealed statements by Officer Darren Wilson that conflicted with physical evidence.
- The family representatives attacked county prosecutor Bob McCulloch, saying he had acted as a defender of the killer while publicly declaring the guilt of the victim.
- Brown family spokesmen condemned the violence in Ferguson overnight “but we also condemn the violence of August 9 that killed Michael Brown.”
- The speakers encouraged supporters of the family to rally but not to resort to violence. ““If you burn down buildings, you achieve what?” said Sharpton. “A fire. But you don’t get justice for Michael Brown.”
- Sharpton announced a meeting of civil rights activists in Washington next year to carry the movement forward. Michael Brown has lit a new energy for police accountability,” he said.
Sharpton says “there is another way other than to explode, and other than to have an outrage like that.”
“If you burn down buildings, you achieve what? A fire. But you don’t get justice for Michael Brown,” Sharpton says.
Crump says they condemn the violence of last night “but we also condemn the violence of August 9 that killed Michael Brown.”
“Why change the rules when it is our children dead on the ground?” Crump says of McCulloch, the prosecutor. “We want equal justice. We want due process.”
Question: Are they hoping for federal indictment?
Sharpton: “It has been the legacy of the civil rights movement that you always had to go to the federal government.”
Question 2: do you think authorities let Ferguson burn?
Sharpton: I think that’s been answered.
“This is not our first rodeo McCulloch,” Sharpton says.
Brown lawyer: 'nobody is going to condone violence'
Crump says Michael Brown Sr is not speaking because “you do not want to use the raw emotion of a family... we try to move on, focused on the cause.”
Nobody is going to condone violence. We’re going to reject it.
And they’re back. The speakers had left the room due to the interruption. Crump is now back at the microphones. “I’m giving everybody just a moment to set back up.”
Sharpton:
“Let me say this. There was a so-called reporter blogger saying some stuff that John responded to. So before y’all act like there was some disturbance.. . we went, Mike Sr and I, to say let him say what he wants.
It was all y’all bloggers who caused the disruption.
I got no problem with a guy not wanting to hear what I want to say. But why would you come to where I’m speaking?
Crump opens the floor to questions.
There’s confusion in the hall. “Alright whoa whoa whoa,” says Sharpton. Unclear what’s happening. There’s a lot of yelling. Crump wraps it.
“Thank you so much for coming out. Thank you,” he says.
“We took a blow last night, but that’s all right,” Sharpton says. “We’ve gone to the corner and cleared our heads. We’ll come out for the next rounds.”
Sharpton’s done. Crump is back. “Some people said it was a fixed fight,” he says, taking up Sharpton on his metaphor.
Update: here’s video of Sharpton:
Updated
Sharpton says civil rights activist will meet in Washington to plan next actions. “We will not turn around,” he says.
“We will come out... lay out a plan that will constructively help to change this nation.”
“Michael Brown has lit a new energy for police accountability,” Sharpton says.
Sharpton calls for calm and law abidance, saying “those that burn are on their own side.”
“If you’re on Michael Brown’s side, you walk with dignity... if you do anything to harm others, you’re on your own side, you’re not on Michael Brown’s side.
We also question how you have grand juries now that are trial juries. The use of a grand jury is to find out if there is probably cause... you do not have a grand jury to decide on the guilt or the innocence of the accused.. you have a body, this person did it, there are accusations, contradictions, you go to trial.
The prosecutor was not announcing whether there was probable cause, he was announcing acquittal.
Sharpton calls it a “miscarriage and a misuse of the grand jury system.”
Sharpton: “We will continue to fight for a new level of accountability of policing in this country.”
“Michael Brown will not be remembered for the ashes of buildings burned in Ferguson. He’ll be remembered in new legislation...”
Sharpton questions the timing of the grand jury announcement. “I think it was irresponsible. I think it was unnecessarily provocative.”
He says McCulloch implied the federal government investigation was over. “That is not the case.” The federal probe continues in the killing and the review, Sharpton says.
“We were not surprised at what the outcome was. Certainly it is painful.”
“But let the record be clear. You have broken our hearts, but you have not broken our backs. We are going to continue to pursue justice.
Sharpton: 'federal government needs to step in'
Sharpton says McCulloch undermined the credibility of the witnesses who are still needed for the federal prosecution.
Wilson “still has not explained the original altercation,” Sharpton says.
For the prosecutor to talk about inconsistencies is unchallenged because there’s no one representing the other side,” SHarpton says. “What may sound inconsistent is only responding... if there was two sides, then maybe some of the gaps would have been filled.
But when the prosecutor feels it is his duty to go out of his way... AMerica saw why we said from day one, the federal government needs to step in.
“We’re gonna hold out hope that some point justice will be served” with a fair and impartial presentation of evidence, Gray says.
Sharpton is up now.
“Three days after Michael Brown Jr was killed, we had a major rally in this very church,” he begins. “We said.. that we had little to no faith in the grand jury by the local DA... we said that night that we wanted the federal government to come in... Last night the appearance by the DA made it clear to everyone why we had little faith in the state prosecution.”
I have never seen a prosecutor hold a press conference to discredit the victim, where he went out of his way to go point by point in discrediting Michael Brown jr who could not defend himself.
How do you ... try to convict a young man for shoplifting... for interfering in a police car when you can’t hear his side of the story?
Have you ever heard a prosecutor explain... why the one who did the killing is not going to trial... but the victim is guilty?
Crump says Michael Brown is crying out from the grave, “you all have to change this system.”
A second family attorney, Anthony Gray, speaks now. He says they always said that “the decision of this grand jury was going to be a direct reflection of the presentation of evidence... if they present evidence to indict, there would have been an indictment.”
He says the decision reflects “the sentiment of those who presented the evidence.”
“We saw what was presented, but we didn’t get to hear how it was presented.”
We still have an ongoing investigation, Gray notes. “As I read the testimony .. of Wilson, he indicted himself. Most of what he said didn’t line up with the physical or the forensic evidence. ... If you really want to hide something you hide it in plain view. It’s right there for all of us to see.”
Crump: “For the sake of the public trust, which is so critical to Ferguson... if that means appointing a special prosecutor who has no relationship with the officers, that you do so.”
Crump says instead of making noise, people should strive to make a difference.
Crump says Wilson told police Brown hit him 10 times but told the grand jury he was hit twice.
Crump ridicules Wilson’s characterization of Brown as “Hulk Hogan”. Wilson himself is a large man, Crump says.
“And nobody held up the pictures to say, but that’s not consistent with the physical evidence.”
Applause follows.
Crump questions the prosecutors who questioned officer Darren Wilson.
“You had to scratch your head to say when is the prosecutor going to cross-examine the killer of an unarmed person? A first-year law student would have did a better job.”
Brown attorney: process 'completely unfair'
Crump says the family’s attorneys asked for a special prosecutor from the start and objected to a grand jury hearing, which turned out to be “different from any normal grand jury”.
After last night, Crump says, “we strenously objected to this prosecutor and this process.”
“We went through as much evidence as we could and saw how completely unfair this process was, we object as publicly and loudly as we can on behalf of the family that this process is broken.”
Family attorney Benjamin Crump opens the news conference.
He says Michael Brown Sr will say little “because he doesn’t want to misspeak with so many emotions running through him that could be held against him.”
He says the family is facing a “terrible, unforgiving, hour.”
Protestors in California briefly shut down freeways in Los Angeles and Oakland Monday night and scuffled with police in solidarity with protests in Ferguson, the Guardian’s Rory Carroll (@rorycarroll72) reports:
The overnight events remained largely peaceful, however, and police reported just a handful of arrests.
In LA several hundred people marched from Leimert Park, where they had gathered to hear the Missouri grand jury’s decision about whether to prosecute the police officer who shot Michael Brown, and headed downtown.
Police and firefighters tried to clear a way while police helicopters hovered overhead.
A group of protestors squared off with police near the Staples centre and pushed over a fence by the 110 freeway, which it then blocked off for about an hour. They chanted: “No justice, no peace. No racist police!”
Protestors in the bay area marched in Berkeley, San Francisco, San Jose and Oakland, which saw the most disruption. Hundreds marched through downtown and blocked intersections, paralysing traffic while chanting “shut it down!” Police made several arrests.
Live feed: Brown family news conference
An NBC News video feed of the upcoming news conference with the family of Michael Brown and Al Sharpton has just gone live. You can watch here. No one’s speaking yet. A speaker has said the conference will begin “in the next 7-10 minutes”.
Protests are being planned throughout Tuesday in Washington and Baltimore, the AP reports:
In Washington, one group lied on the ground to stage a “die-in” in front of Metro police headquarters. They plan to occupy various buildings in the District over a 28-hour period.
A larger protest is planned for 7 p.m. at Mount Vernon Square in Northwest.
In Baltimore, the Baltimore People’s Power Assembly is planning an “emergency response protest” in McKeldin Square, followed by a march past the federal building. Another group plans to march on Baltimore City Hall.
Outside the White House Monday, dozens waved signs and chanted “justice for Michael Brown” after marching through the streets.
(h/t: @kaylaepstein)
Updated
“...the reality is that legal discrimination is the norm,” Steven Thrasher writes in Comment Is Free, “and our law enforcement officials refuse to acknowledge reality”:
So it was nothing short of a gut punch to see our African American president on the wrong side of the gap between the fantasy of what the law does and the reality that people live. Obama, in that moment, gave credence to the fiction that if citizens just faithfully adhere to being “a nation built on the rule of law”, the result will be justice. Perhaps he will finally go to Ferguson tomorrow, but today, we are a nation looking upon a pile of ashes, death and broken dreams.
Read the full piece here.
Surreal split screen: Obama calls for restraint as what looks like tear gas is deployed in #Ferguson pic.twitter.com/97W3YwGeHn
— Raya Jalabi (@rayajalabi) November 25, 2014
A body was found in a car in Ferguson Tuesday morning, near where Michael Brown was killed. A police statement on the discovery says “this incident is currently being classified as a suspicious death” but draws no explicit link to last night’s violence:
The St. Louis County Police Department is on the 9400 block of Glenn Owen in Ferguson, MO. Near the intersection of Windwood and Glenn Owen. At approximately 9:00 am today a citizen reported that an unresponsive man was inside a parked vehicle at that location. Responding officers discovered a deceased male inside the vehicle. No information on the identity of the man or additional information about the man, ownership of the car or circumstances leading up to the discovery. I will release additional information through emails after I obtain it. Detectives from the St. Louis County Crimes Against Persons are enroute to conduct the investigation. This incident is currently being classified as a suspicious death and will remain so until evidence allows a different classification. No further information at this time.
Dead man found in car in Ferguson this AM, St Louis County police say in statement. No info on "circumstances leading up to the discovery"
— Jon Swaine (@jonswaine) November 25, 2014
Dead man in car in Ferguson, MO, was found only about 350 yards away from where Michael Brown was shot in August, off end of same street
— Jon Swaine (@jonswaine) November 25, 2014
Updated
Barricades are coming out to protect the Ferguson police station (via Huffington Post):
Concrete barricades going up around #ferguson police station https://t.co/Z7hoN4sPO1
— Ryan J. Reilly (@ryanjreilly) November 25, 2014
Summary
As our live blog coverage continues, here’s a summary of where things stand:
- Residents of Ferguson, Missouri, expressed incomprehension and outrage that a grand jury had declined to indict police officer Darren Wilson in the August killing of teenager Michael Brown.
- Brown’s family announced a news conference for midday Tuesday.
- Parts of Ferguson on Tuesday showed serious damage from violence overnight. About a dozen businesses were burned, stores were looted and gunshots were fired.
- “We’re not going to tolerate” similar violence on Tuesday night, St Louis mayor Francis Slay said.
- St Louis county police reported 61 arrests overnight, with second-degree burglary the most common charge. There were no reports of deaths or serious injuries. Update:
Dead man found in car in Ferguson this AM, St Louis County police say in statement. No info on "circumstances leading up to the discovery"
— Jon Swaine (@jonswaine) November 25, 2014
- An early-morning protest organized by clergy was held in Clayton, south of Ferguson, early Tuesday.
- Grand jury evidence released Monday did not clarify the circumstances of Brown’s killing. Testimony by officer Wilson was contradicted by witnesses, some of whom changed their stories over the course of multiple interviews.
Updated
Video: Ferguson, Missouri, smoulders after a night of violence
The Rev. Al Sharpton will appear at the Ferguson news conference, announced for noon ET, with the Brown family.
At the airport headed to St. Louis to join the parents of Michael Brown. We will hold an 11 am press conference in Ferguson .
— Reverend Al Sharpton (@TheRevAl) November 25, 2014
Many in- and outside of Ferguson remember Sharpton’s speech at Brown’s funeral service. “Whatever happened, the value of this boy’s life must be answered by somebody,” Sharpton said at the time.
Here’s a passage of Sharpton talking about the Brown family at the funeral (more here):
They had to break their mourning to ask folks to stop looting and rioting.... Can you imagine? They have to stop mourning to get you to control your anger. Like you more angry than they are. Like you don’t understand that Michael Brown does not want to be remembered for a riot. He wants to be remembered as the one who made America deal with how we going to police in the United States.
This is not about you. This is about justice. This is about fairness. And America is going to have to come to terms when there’s something wrong, that we have money to give military equipment to police forces, when we don’t have money for training, and money for public education and... our children.
A thankful business owner in Ferguson:
Business owner Jerome Jenkins says people locked arms to prevent more damage. "I wish I knew who they were." pic.twitter.com/T673p7dWY0
— Matt Pearce (@mattdpearce) November 25, 2014
Boards stay up at some businesses.
This QT. Look at how thick that wood is. Y'all. #Ferguson pic.twitter.com/acBXqqGWh5
— deray mckesson (@deray) November 25, 2014
Here’s a visualization, via Twitter, of all the mentions of “Ferguson” last night. Guardian social media editor Kayla Epstein (@kaylaepstein) notes that these are only the tweets that are geotagged, which comprises a very small percentage of total tweets sent. Twitter says there were 3.5m tweets sent last night mentioning “Ferguson”.
Conversation bubbled for most of the evening, and then, around the time of the grand jury announcement, it exploded:
Updated
The St Louis County police department has released a list of 61 arrests made overnight from Monday to Tuesday, obtained by the Guardian’s Paul Lewis (@paullewis).
The most common charge associated with the arrests – in 29 cases – was for second-degree burglary. There was one arrest for unlawful possession of a firearm, one arrest for second-degree arson and seven arrests for unlawful assembly. Other reasons given for arrest included trespassing, receiving stolen property and possession of marijuana.
Sergeant Brian Schellman, public information coordinator for the St. Louis County police department, said in a statement that he had been unable to make an overnight tabulation of “property damages, burglaries, thefts, arsons, etc” “given the dynamic events of last night, and the multitude of crimes committed throughout varying parts of the area.”
“That will take some time to compile,” the statement said.
In pictures: Ferguson, Tuesday morning
A Guardian photo gallery of pictures from Ferguson on Tuesday morning is here.
Updated
When the grand jury decision was announced Monday, the family of Michael Brown released a statement saying, “We are profoundly disappointed that the killer of our child will not face the consequence of his actions.”
The statement (in full here) asked frustrated community members to make “positive change” by “join[ing] with us in our campaign to ensure that every police officer working the streets in this country wears a body camera.” The statement concluded with a call for peaceful protests that was repeated by president Barack Obama.
The reaction to the grand jury decision by Brown’s mother, Lesley McSpadden, was captured on film and posted to YouTube by the New York Times:
Further video of these moments can be found on the Washington Post site.
The Michael Brown family is expected to address the community again at noon ET / 11am CT.
Updated
For some residents, the story this morning is the police and the case, not the looters, the LA Times reports:
I'm at the police line talking to local residents and their first reactions are about the police, the case, rather than the looters.
— Matt Pearce (@mattdpearce) November 25, 2014
The clergy-led march in Clayton, meanwhile, is winding down, reports the St Louis Post-Dispatch:
Clergy led march disbanding. Organizers urge participants to stay involved in other actions over the coming days pic.twitter.com/6rjPw1QXWs
— Jacob Barker (@jacobbarker) November 25, 2014
“This spun out of control,” the St Louis county police chief said early Tuesday at a brief news conference with mayor Francis Slay (see earlier). The New York Times quotes chief Jon Belmar as saying:
I really don’t have any hesitation in telling you that I didn’t see a lot of peaceful protest out there tonight, and I’m disappointed about that. I’m not saying there weren’t folks out there that were out there for the right reason — I’m not saying that wasn’t the case — but I am saying that, unfortunately, this spun out of control.”
Sixty-one people were arrested overnight, the county reported.
West Florissant Drive in Ferguson intersects with Canfield Drive, where Michael Brown was shot dead.
The street is cordoned this morning, reports the LA Times:
W Florissant is still smoldering, and off-limits. "We're treating the strip as a crime scene," officer says. pic.twitter.com/0OE7ABaV0f
— Matt Pearce (@mattdpearce) November 25, 2014
Tuesday’s front pages.
Here's a look at how an assortment of newspapers across the nation are covering #ferguson this morning pic.twitter.com/pW23VnZv3f
— Adam Glanzman (@glanzpiece) November 25, 2014
The St Louis rally organized by clergy this morning appears to have gained mass. Here’s Forsyth Boulevard near Bemiston in Clayton (map), via the St Louis Post-Dispatch:
linking arms to move down Forsyth. #ferguson pic.twitter.com/6TxIcSNUG7
— Tim Barker (@tbarker13) November 25, 2014
Protesters are marching at Forsyth and Bemiston in Clayton pic.twitter.com/DcKnicEtWj
— KMOV (@KMOV) November 25, 2014
Updated
President Barack Obama addressed the grand jury decision Monday night. ‘Some are deeply disappointed, even angry. It’s understandable’ he said in part:
Protesters were up early this morning in Jackson, Mississippi:
Protestors have moved on and traffic is flowing again at the Pearl St. exit in downtown Jackson. #ferguson pic.twitter.com/0U9igdQwIB
— 16 WAPT News (@16WAPTNews) November 25, 2014
This is from the St Louis mayor’s office:
An early start to get businesses reopened. pic.twitter.com/r4Casw2Nez
— Maggie Crane (@newsformaggie) November 25, 2014
“None of this was a surprise,” Jamelle Bouie writes in Slate. “It’s extremely rare for a police officer to face an indictment for a shooting, much less criminal punishment.” Read the full piece here. Bouie concludes:
Which is to say this: It would have been powerful to see charges filed against Darren Wilson. At the same time, actual justice for Michael Brown—a world in which young men like Michael Brown can’t be gunned down without consequences—won’t come from the criminal justice system. Our courts and juries aren’t impartial arbiters—they exist inside society, not outside of it—and they can only provide as much justice as society is willing to give.
Unfortunately, we don’t live in a society that gives dignity and respect to people like Michael Brown and John Crawford and Rekia Boyd. Instead, we’ve organized our country to deny it wherever possible, through negative stereotypes of criminality, through segregation and neglect, and through the spectacle we see in Ferguson and the greater St. Louis area, where police are empowered to terrorize without consequence, and residents are condemned and attacked when they try to resist.
And here’s Bouie on Wilson’s testimony:
Wilson literally describes Michael Brown as some kind of Negro Sebastian Shaw, who gets stronger with every bullet. pic.twitter.com/dj9dgt8LP3
— Jamelle Bouie (@jbouie) November 25, 2014
Clergy are leading a morning rally in Clayton. A Wall Street Journal correspondent captures a moment of silence for Michael Brown, with a minute for every hour Brown’s body lay on Canfield Drive after he was shot dead.
4 and 1/2 minutes of silence for Michael Brown in Clayton. #Ferguson https://t.co/iVNLCZly6v
— Ben Kesling (@bkesling) November 25, 2014
The evidence heard by the grand jury presents many different versions of Michael Brown’s last moments. In his testimony, officer Darren Wilson said Brown “looks like a demon” and was “charging”. Here’s a snippet:
Had to read it for myself. Darren Wilson testified that Michael Brown looked like a “demon.” pic.twitter.com/4ZljgZCEaK
— Saeed Jones (@theferocity) November 25, 2014
Other witness testimony diverges sharply with Wilson’s account. A witness identified as Witness 14 was interviewed on 12 August, three days after the shooting. The witness said Brown was moving “slowly. Real slowly” and was “hunched over” when he was shot dead (the witness’s full testimony is here):
The officer the boy was still standing on the, on the, on the partially on the parking lot and on the grass. ‘Cause he had ran that way. The officer came out came around got into his stance. And he said ?stop.? Because the boy looked up at him and he took two steps, about two or three steps. Pow, pow he fired off about three rounds and he hit him the boy kinda wiggled. And when he came back up he had the weirdest look on his face and he started coming forward. Not in a, like he was tryin to attack him, it?s like he?s coming to him like to plea with him stop. The officer did say, ?stop, stop, stop.? Well after that third time, he let loose. And the boy was coming forward slowly. Real slowly. But you could see he was hurt, ?cause he was like this. And rocking back and forth. He wasn?t in a upright position he was kinda hunched over. And as he was coming forward and he fired off the volley he was falling. He didn?t fall to his knees, he fell straight down. And as he was going, he kept firing. He kept firing. Until he hit the ground. Okay.
Here’s a more extended version of officer Wilson’s account of Michael Brown’s last moments (full Wilson interview here):
I exited. I followed him in that direction. After I said on the radio, ‘Shots fired. Send me more cars’, I was yelling at him to stop and get on the ground. He kept running and then eventually he stopped in this area somewhere. When he stopped, he turned, looked at me, made like a grunting noise and had the most intense aggressive face I’ve ever seen on a person. When he looked at me, he then did like the hop. . .you know like people do to start running. And, he started running at me. During his first stride, he took his right hand put it under his shirt and into his waistband. And I ordered him to stop and get on the ground again. He didn?t; I fired, a, multiple shots. After I fired the multiple shots I paused for a second, yelled at him to get on the ground again, he was still in the same state. Still charging hands still in his waistband, hadn?t slowed down. I fired another set of shots. Same thing, still running at me hadn?t slowed down, hands still in his waistband. He gets about eight to ten feet away, a he?s still coming at me in the same way. I fired more shots. One of those, however many of them hit on him in the head and he went down right there. When he went down his hand was still under his, his right hand was still under his body looked like it was still in his waistband. I never touched him. I said um, got on the radio and said, ?Send me every car we got and a supervisor.? Fifteen to twenty seconds later, two marked cars show up, code three sirens and lights on. They started blocking everything off. A moment later my supervisor shows up and he sent me to the police station.
"He was almost bulking up to run through the shots, like it was making him mad that I’m shooting him” --the killer describing his victim
— Aaron Bady (@zunguzungu) November 25, 2014
Updated
The grand jury evidence released included photos of injuries sustained by officer Darren Wilson in his encounter with Michael Brown.
Photos show Officer Wilson's injuries after his altercation w/ Michael Brown http://t.co/oZbYuxM85X #FergusonDecision pic.twitter.com/YkJtEawc2J
— CNN (@CNN) November 25, 2014
Wilson thanked supporters in a letter obtained by reporters. “All of you are simply amazing, and I don’t know how to thank you all enough,’’ Wilson wrote:
I wish I could attend meet you, hug you, and personally thank you for all of your continued support, however, due to my and my families safety I am unable to.’’
“I want you all to know that I do get updates on the amount of support. Unfortunately, I don’t get to see all of the comments made through social media, but overall messages are relayed to me. Thank you from the bottom of my heart, and know that I would do the same for any of you.’’
“Also please keep my family in blue in your hearts and prayers, they have all made a sacrifice to their own lives in order to work the excessive hours through the heat and rain to ensure that the riots and protests in Ferguson were as safe as they could be.”
The St Louis County police chief, Jon Belmar, said he heard about 150 gunshots fired in and around Ferguson Monday night, and police made at least 29 arrests. Writing from the scene, the Guardian’s Jon Swaine (@jonswaine) and Paul Lewis (@paullewis) summarize a night of unrest:
Although no serious injuries were reported, Belmar said the disturbances on Monday night and early on Tuesday morning were “much worse” than the unrest that erupted in the immediate aftermath of the shooting.
Despite the arrival of national guard soldiers and months of preparation in advance of the expected protests police were unable to contain the disorder.
In a bid to quell the unrest, police flooded streets, firing teargas and “hornet’s nest” sting grenades, which disperse rubber bullets and a toxic chemical powder.
Those efforts occasionally prompted crowds to melt into sidestreets, but they quickly reappeared later in groups one hundred-strong and more.
At 1.30am local time, amid escalating unrest, Belmar told a press conference: “Unless we bring 10,000 policemen in here, I don’t think we can prevent folks that are destroying a community.”
In surrounding towns, groups of people were casually walking in and out of mobile phone stores, supermarkets and pharmacies and looting. Often they seemed to be burning down the buildings once they were empty.
Anger was frequently expressed with the succinct “fuck the police”. But occasionally those taking part in the riots stepped aside to explain their actions.
“What is going on here is real simple,” said DeAndre Rogers Austin, 18, who was with his two younger sisters. “We told them no justice, no peace. We didn’t get our justice, so they don’t get their peace. We’re fucking shit up over here. Plain and simple.”
Read the full report here.
Our newsroom in London has just concluded five hours of blogging developments in the Ferguson protests and related protests.
It’s a rich blog by Matthew Weaver (@matthew_weaver) with overnight footage from Ferguson and other protest sites across the country. You can find it here.
Key documents from grand jury evidence
St Louis county prosecutors released evidence on Monday night heard by the grand jury of 12 that declined to indict officer Darren Wilson in the killing of Michael Brown. You can find all the documents online here.
The Guardian has just published key documents from the grand jury’s report. They include:
1. Wilson’s interview
This is the transcript of the police officer’s own police interview the day after the shooting. In this Wilson explains why he felt he had no option but to shoot dead the teenager. Read the full interview here.
#DarrenWilson "I felt like a 5yo holding onto Hulk Hogan" - Except you were an armed and trained cop #Ferguson pic.twitter.com/I9PKEEMb7l
— ariahfine (@ariahfine) November 25, 2014
2. The report of Wilson’s first hospital examination
About two hours after Brown was shot on 9 August, Wilson went to the Christian Hospital in St Louis, spending just under two hours there. Read the full report here.
3. Witness statement by doctor’s assistant to examined Wilson
The medical assistant at the Christian Hospital in St Louis describes the police officer’s injuries, and notes that he seemed calm, two hours after the shooting. Read the full interview here.
4. Witness says Brown was “giving up” when Wilson shot
There are a series of witness statements among the prosecutors office documents. This is one that highlights a key issue – what Brown was doing immediately before he was killed. Read the full interview here.
5. Witness says Brown was “charging” towards Wilson
This witness statement gives a contrary view, one more consistent with the Wilson’s own testimony. Read the full interview here.
6. Autopsy report
The first of two autopsies, carried out the day after Brown was shot, lists his full extent of the gunshot wounds, with the pathologist finding injuries to his scalp, forehead, jaw, chest, arm, hand and face. Read the full report here.
7. Letter by the forensic pathologist
Writing to the the St Louis prosecutors office on 24 November, the forensic pathologist who carried out a second autopsy on Brown (his name is redacted, but it is presumed to be Dr Michael Baden) complains about lack of access to information. Read the letter here.
Updated
Protests nationwide follow Ferguson decision
St Louis County prosecutor Bob McCulloch began his half-hour announcement of the grand jury decision on Monday night at about 9pm ET. By midnight, peaceful protests had taken shape in cities across the United States, including New York, Los Angeles, Chicago and Washington.
Here’s video footage from some protests late Monday and early Tuesday:
St Louis mayor: 'that's not protesting'
St. Louis mayor Francis Slay held an early morning news conference Tuesday saying, “I’m disappointed in all the violence that occured.”
“The people who were looting, breaking windows, that’s not protesting, that’s criminal conduct.”
“We’re not going to tolerate” similar violence on Tuesday night, Slay said.
Video: Ferguson, Missouri, hit by violence, looting and arson after grand jury decision
Good morning and welcome to our live blog coverage of fallout from a decision by a Missouri grand jury not to indict police officer Darren Wilson in the shooting death of teenager Michael Brown last August.
Protests broke out across the country late Monday in reaction to the decision. Ferguson was hit by violence, looting and arson, with flames engulfing businesses and vehicles as gunfire kept firefighters at bay.
“It feels like someone took a pitchfork, stuck it in a fire and put it right in my stomach and then twisted it,” a protester in Ferguson told the Guardian.
The parents of Michael Brown are expected to hold a news conference at 11am. We’ll have all the latest updates, including new analysis of raw grand jury evidence released Monday night and hosted on the Guardian website here.
