Following Monday night’s announcement by St. Louis County Prosecutor Robert McCulloch that a grand jury would not indict police officer Darren Wilson for the shooting death of unarmed teenager Michael Brown, the city of Ferguson, Missouri erupted in unrest fueled by an outpouring of emotion by those both outraged and saddened by the decision.
Dozens of fires burned buildings and cars throughout the night in Ferguson and National Guard units were ultimately deployed in the early hours of Tuesday. And the New York Times reports that Missouri Governor Jay Nixon is ready to send additional soldiers to Ferguson if he deems it necessary.
While the national response to the grand jury decision included spontaneous marches in dozens of cities—including Chicago, New York, Los Angeles, Oakland and others—on the streets of Ferguson, in areas near the police department headquarters and in the neighborhood where Brown was killed on August 9, the anger to the news was reported as palpable and intense by those on the scene. As police officers in riot gear fired tear gas to disperse gathered crowds, some people responded to the prosecutor’s announcement by smashing windows of cars and breaking into local businesses. According to reports, approximately 29 people were arrested by law enforcement during the course of the night.
Subsequent to McCulloch’s announcement, which took place just after 8:00 PM local time (9:00 PM EST), the prosecutor’s office released a set of documents said to be the complete file from the grand jury. You can view those documents here.
As individuals and organizations responded to the news of the ‘no indictment,’ many on the streets in Ferguson reported scenes of chaos as clouds of tear gas mixed with smoke from burning cars and buildings. The sounds of what appeared to be gunfire were heard intermittently throughout the night. Local hospitals reported dozens of injuries, but no deaths, associated with the street protests and police clashes.
What follows is a mix of reporting and reaction to Monday’s announcement from community members, legal and civil rights groups, protest organizers, and journalists.
Statement from , Lesley McSpadden and Michael Brown, Sr.:
Statement from president Cornell William Brooks:
Statement by Tef Poe, co-founder of (h/t The Dissenter):
Remarks by Montague Simmons, chairperson of the :
Statement Jeffrey Mittman, executive director of the :
On Twitter:
Tweets from https://twitter.com/commondreams/lists/ferguson
MSNBC: All In with Chris Hayes:
The Real News Network: “Democracy on Fire” Protestors Respond to Grand Jury’s Failure to Indict Mike Brown’s Killer
Huffington Post: Ferguson Erupts in Protests After Darren Wilson Grand Jury Announcement
During one episode, captured by Fusion media, a woman thought to be having a heart attack was carried to a police line for assistance, but the police responded to those trying to help the woman by firing tear gas and shooting rounds from bean-bag shotguns:
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The Intercept: “Burn This Shit Down”: Mayhem and Protests Engulf Ferguson
The Guardian: Ferguson ablaze after Michael Brown verdict: ‘This is a war zone now’