Free Republic

he protests in Ferguson, Missouri, over the police killing of 18-year-old Michael Brown are eliciting predictable glee from Russian media outlets, some of which are making it seem as if a race war is about to break out in America. An RT article, “Protests Against Police Tyranny have Spread Across the Main Cities of the USA," suggested that the nation is on the brink of chaos as the "rage of Americans ... spreads across the entire country." Sputink i Pogrom, a nationalist newsmagazine, tweeted out, "What do you think? Should Russia grant Obama asylum in Rostov after the Ferguson Maidanites...

Violence between police and groups of people defying a state-imposed curfew broke out early Monday morning.Violence erupted once again in the troubled city of Ferguson, Mo., as multiple gunshots were fired and police launched dozens of tear gas canisters and a main thoroughfare became a battle zone. At least one person, a woman, suffered a gunshot wound and was taken to a hospital, according to a police officer at the scene. Several others were arrested. It was the second night of a state-imposed midnight curfew designed to quell the unrest that has enveloped this St. Louis suburb since Aug. 9,...

Michael Eric Dyson told Face the Nation Sunday morning that President Barack Obama needed to more forcefully address the underlying issues at play in the metastasizing situation in Ferguson, MO. Dyson criticized local law enforcement and Missouri Governor Jay Nixon (D) as well. “I yearn for more response from the White House,” Dyson said. “This president knows better than most what happens in poor communities that have been antagonized historically by the hostile relationship between black people and the police department. It is not enough for him to come on national television and pretend there is a false moral equivalency...

The events in Missouri spring from America's deeply embedded segregation and black economic deprivation. I spent my very early years in New York, living a very multiracial Sesame Street life, a big swinging bellbottom of a childhood. And then our family moved to Baltimore and the iron curtain of the "colour line" fell. I felt that I had moved from the 1970s through a time warp where black and white were the only two colours and never the twain shall socially meet. I grew to understand what the 50s were actually like in Baltimore, when my mother, for example, was...

(VIDEO-AT-LINK)Missouri Gov. Jay Nixon said Sunday that the Ferguson, Mo., police department's release of a surveillance video showing a man resembling Michael Brown committing a robbery at a convenience store produced a negative reaction in the ongoing unrest over the shooting of the 18-year-old black teenager. "I think it had an incendiary effect," Nixon said in an interview on CBS' "Face the Nation." "When you release pictures and you clearly are attempting to besmirch a victim of a shooting, shot down in his own street, a young man, and at the same time you're releasing information...to tarnish him, then properly,...

FERGUSON, Mo. — After another night of chaos in a St. Louis suburb roiled by protests over the police killing of Michael Brown, one shooting victim is in critical condition and seven are under arrest. Capt. Ron Johnson of the Missouri Highway Patrol said early Sunday a large force was deployed amid a curfew and protests in Ferguson after police received a report that a person had been shot. Officers had learned through intelligence sources that a group of armed protesters were holed up in a barbecue restaurant. By the time police arrived, the shooting victim, whom Johnson did not...

At least 150-300 protesters broke curfew tonight and are on the street in Ferguson. Rain is helping to clear out people. Most activity happening around the QT now. (Antonio French) The protesters are “ready to die” tonight. Antonio French ✔ @AntonioFrench Too many young men talking about they're ready to die tonight. #Ferguson 12:39 AM - 17 Aug 2014 1,368 Retweets 344 favorites “No Justice! No Curfew!… We grown!” Via St. Louis photographer Kenny Bahr on the scene. (Warning on Language)(VIDEO-At_LINK) UPDATE: Kenny just sent this from Ferguson. Protesters Clash With Police— (VIDEO-AT-LINK) You can watch a live feed from...

We’ve been told for days now that that the reason there was rioting in Ferguson is because protesters were “provoked” by militarized police. I agree with some of my colleagues that cops should look like cops (see Kevin’s excellent piece here), and it is deeply unsettling to see police atop armored vehicles training weapons on protesters. On the other hand, there is no justification to throw projectiles at police, no matter what kind of uniforms they are wearing or what kind of vehicles they have, nor is there any justification for destroying or stealing other people’s property. Now, we’ve had...

The statement of the convenience store owner allegedly robbed by Michael Brown seemed almost straight out of a 1950s TV show. The owner, of subcontinental or Middle Eastern appearance on the robbery surveillance tape, issued a statement to the public through his lawyers. Leave me out of it. The store’s owners, through their attorney, sent the message that they want to stay as far away from the situation as possible. In fact, he said, even after the initial alleged theft, it was a customer who called police. “It’s not about them. They didn’t call the police, they didn’t ask the...

US policing is steeped racism, and its brutality, misconduct and abuse of authority is a national epidemic, President of Communities United Against Police Brutality Michelle Gross told RIA Novosti Saturday. "Policing, like much of the rest of American society, is steeped in racism," Gross stated. "Our organization's data on complaints received on our hotline indicate that Blacks are the victims in 60 percent of police brutality incidents. Further, anecdotal evidence shows that Blacks are more likely than any other group to die at the hands of law enforcement." The protests have been ongoing in Ferguson, Missouri since last Saturday, when...

On Friday, Ferguson Police Chief Tom Jackson – who has no command authority of protest events ongoing in his city – released a videotape that he claimed showed Michael Brown strong-arming a shopkeeper and shoplifting a box of cigars. Captain Ron Johnson of the Missouri Highway Patrol – who does command police authority over protest events ongoing in Ferguson, Missouri, as of Thursday afternoon – was not informed in advance that Chief Jackson would release this video, he later told media. CNN reported on Saturday that U.S. Department of Justice officials warned Chief Jackson against releasing it. He ignored them....

The rioting, protests and controversy continue to swirl around Ferguson this weekend, and you will no doubt be reading plenty of coverage from both sides about it. But in the background, a disturbing, larger national conversation has erupted out of the troubles in the St. Louis suburb. The hot topic everywhere seems to be a growing call to halt the so called “militarization” of the nation’s civilian police forces, highlighted by the riot suppression gear on display in Ferguson. It’s an argument coming from both sides of the ideological spectrum, too. The IBD editorial board warns us to “beware” of...

In Ferguson, Mo., early Saturday morning, Times reporter Matt Pearce reported live at the scene of looting and protests. The unrest came after a day of mainly peaceful protests over the death of 18-year-old Michael Brown, who was shot and killed by a police officer a week ago. That calm came after days of tense confrontations between protesters and the police. Trouble began again early Saturday after a crowd gathered in the area near a mini-mart that authorities allege Brown had robbed shortly before he was killed. Protests in the area soon deteriorated into looting. [Note: The first tweet below...

FERGUSON, Mo. — Unrest returned to the streets of this St. Louis suburb early Saturday as hundreds of demonstrators, angered by the shooting death of an unarmed African-American teenager by a police officer, engaged in a standoff with the police that was punctuated by threats and a new round of denunciations of law enforcement practices. The confrontation, the first serious one since the Missouri State Highway Patrol on Thursday assumed responsibility for security operations here, ended at about 4 a.m. when the authorities, prompted by the gradual dispersal of demonstrators, pulled back to their nearby command post. The Associated Press...

If liberals truly cared about the plight of today’s black community, they wouldn’t be “standing in solidarity” with a bunch of outraged looters in Ferguson, Missouri… They would be denouncing the party of the KKK, Jim Crow, and segregation. They would be burning the homes of gang members. They would be fighting for the single black mother who is facing up to three years in prison for deciding to defend her life with a firearm. In short… They would be rampaging against the morally bankrupt hustlers of victimhood and dependency. Or, to put it another way, they would be voting...

Riots bring out the best and the worst in media. Some risk their safety to get the powerful images and stories that define an event. Responsible professionals take great care to make sure that the story gets told properly and fairly. Some reporters and, more often, pundits, unfortunately use images without providing context and gravitate immediately to easy hot button topics. They push to inflame, rather than inform. Journalists, against their wishes, have also formed part of the story. Police actions against both citizen reporters and mainstream media reporters have made Ferguson a symbol of what many on the right...

LINK HERE

Five days after a police officer fired multiple rounds at and killed 18-year-old Michael Brown in Ferguson, Missouri, we now know that the officer’s name is Darren Wilson. Thanks to Ferguson Police Chief Thomas Jackson, we also know that officers believe Brown had just strong-armed a convenience store clerk for a $48.99 box of Swisher Sweets cigars. Jackson provided the incident report from that robbery to reporters in Missouri this morning. He took no questions, suggesting reporters take some time to “digest it.” (snip) Why did it take five days for them to release this information, none of which has...

Wednesday was a scary night in Ferguson: Tear gas, bricks thrown journalists arrested. Ferguson Missouri Police Chief Thomas Jackson spoke again tonight with Sean Hannity. Jackson told Hannity that the Ferguson police have been shot at every night during the rioting. He also admitted that he had been shot at. Police Chief Thomas Jackson: We haven’t had a single protester injured. The only injuries have been to police officers. One had his ankle broken by a brick… I think this was the first time we had a firebomb thrown at us but we have taken gunfire pretty much every night…...

<p>Guns and ammo are selling at a feverish pace in and around St. Louis as violent clashes continue between protesters and police in nearby Ferguson, Missouri.</p> <p>"People are coming in with fear in their eyes and they're saying they need something to protect their house," said Steven King, owner of Metro Shooting Supplies, a gun shop in the St. Louis suburb of Bridgeton. "They're scared to death."</p>