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Tag: Michael Brown Verdict

  • Michael Brown Verdict: No Charges Against Wilson

    The Michael Brown verdict has been announced. There will be no charges brought against Officer Darren Wilson for the August shooting of unarmed teen, Michael Brown.

    The grand jury is a secret process, and therefore, it isn’t known whether the decision was unanimous. However, after pouring over evidence and interviewing witnesses time and again, there were enough votes to at least reach the required 9 of twelve.

    Prosecuting attorney Robert McCulloch, who made the announcement to the media, stated that many witnesses on both sides of the story were thoroughly interviewed, but after the autopsy showed that Michael Brown had not been shot from the back, many of the witnesses in that camp changed their stories.

    A couple of them disappeared before they were supposed to testify before the grand jury.

    McCulloch also stated that he doesn’t know if there will be federal charges, but the information that the jury saw is now an “open file” under the sunshine law since the investigation is now closed.

    The Michael Brown verdict on whether or not to indict Darren Wilson has been, to say the least, long awaited. Since Darren Wilson fatally shot Michael Brown back in August, protests in Ferguson, Missouri and the surrounding areas have been held. Some of them peaceful, some of them voilent and destructive.

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wMoQbVJvKPo

    Many people across the nation are holding their breath and are waiting to see what the reaction to an unpopular verdict will be in the town and the areas around. Hopefully the protests will remain, at the behest of everyone from the president to the family of Michael Brown, peaceful and purposeful.

    The looting and violent destruction that came after the Michael Brown shooting left Ferguson marred and its citizens and business owners fearful. Many of those same business owners closed their shops and boarded them up in anticipation of what might come.


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    They are not the only ones who should be worried. Last week, a militant group called RbG Black Rebels made violent threats against everyone from police to shop owners and even offered $5,000 for the location of Officer Darren Wilson. Those tweets have since been removed.

    It seems that just moments after the announcement, however, looting and violence was already being reported.

    A nation’s thoughts are with the citizens of Ferguson and the surrounding areas tonight, and we remain hopeful that the right to protest will be carried out as peacefully as possible without any more tragedy.

    What do you think of the violence and looting that is reportedly already going on in and around Ferguson after the Michael Brown announcement? Is it justified?

  • Michael Brown Verdict Wait Tense; Black Panther Bomber Suspects Arrested

    The Michael Brown verdict is slow coming. The town of Ferguson, Missouri waits with ‘bated breath to see which way their city will burn. Shopkeepers are nervous. Parents are nervous. Police are nervous. No one really knows if officer Darren Wilson is nervous. But two men who are reported to be New Black Panther members just made everyone a lot more nervous.

    The pair have been arrested, accused of plotting to build bombs that could be used in the wake of an unfavorable grand jury decision. Law enforcement sources stated that they were affiliated with the so-called New Black Panthers.

    The original Black Panther Party has disavowed the New Black Panther Party, declaring that it is not a successor to their organization. The Southern Poverty Law Center calls the New Black Panther Party “a virulently racist and anti-Semitic organization whose leaders have encouraged violence against whites, Jews and law enforcement officers.”

    The two men, Brandon Orlando Baldwin and Olajuwon Davis, were previously named in a federal indictment that charged them with purchasing two pistols from a firearms dealer under false pretenses.

    President Obama is already calling for calm in the St. Louis suburb.

    “I think first and foremost, keep protests peaceful,” Obama said during taped interview to be aired on Sunday.

    “This is a country that allows everybody to express their views, allows them to peacefully assemble to protest actions that they think are unjust,” he said. “But using any event as an excuse for violence is contrary to rule of law, contrary to who we are.”

    While Missouri Governor Jay Nixon has declared a state of emergency and called in National Guard troops in anticipation of trouble after the grand jury decision is announced, the mayor of St. Louis hopes to avoid trouble.

    “We have instructed our police officers to protect the protesters’ constitutional rights,” he said. “We have directed them to use more active tactics only when necessary to keep people safe or to protect property.”

  • Michael Brown Verdict: Father Asks for Peace

    The Michael Brown verdict is expected as early as Sunday, and in anticipation of the violence predicted regardless of the outcome, the victim’s father, Michael Brown, Sr., is asking everyone to remain peaceful.

    In a new video, released by STLForward.com, Brown, Sr. asks that Ferguson stay calm while waiting for a grand jury to decide whether or not to indict police officer Darren Wilson.

    “Hurting others or destroying property is not the answer,” he says.

    The Telegraph reports that Brown, Sr. insists that despite losing his son to gun violence, that “violence is not the answer.”

    The grand jury is believed to be close to reaching the deliberations stage. Prosecutors in St Louis County are expected to provide some notice to police and schools in the area to give them time to prepare for possible violence.

    On Thursday night, prosecutors tested the system they will use to alert journalists of an announcement regarding the Michael Brown verdict. Many took that as a possible sign that a decision is drawing near.

    Missouri’s governor, Jay Nixon, has already activated the National Guard in anticipation of trouble and gun stores in the area have reported spikes in sales.

    Will Ferguson, Missouri residents honor Michael Brown, Sr.’s wish when the Michael Brown verdict is read–regardless of what that verdict is?

  • Michael Brown Verdict: Darren Wilson Turning in Badge?

    The Michael Brown verdict has everyone on edge, but probably no one more than Darren Wilson. Now the Washington Times reports that the officer at the heart of the stand-off is in talks to turn in his badge.

    Sources said that the resignation discussions are dependent upon the outcome of the grand jury’s investigation and determination of whether he should be charged with a crime for shooting Michael Brown.

    Darren Wilson still maintains his innocence, however sources say he has spoken privately with friends about turning in his badge in order to ‘pave peace for the community.’

    The grand jury is due to meet Friday, and the public could know the Michael Brown verdict as early as Sunday. Why the delay? Sources claim that is due to the prosecutor’s plan to give law enforcement a 48-hour notice of the verdict, in order to prepare for what are expected to be violent protests.

    If the Michael Brown verdict isn’t in Darren Wilson’s favor–meaning the grand jury find there is enough evidence to prosecute him for a crime related to his shooting of Michael Brown on August 9th–he might not resign.

    Wilson has six years on the force, and has no disciplinary issues in his background. He is currently on paid administrative leave. If the Michael Brown verdict finds him eligible for prosecution, he will likely remain on administrative leave until the trial reaches a verdict. That means he’d likely be paid while preparing for trial.

    Regardless of the Michael Brown verdict, it sounds like there will be trouble in Ferguson, Missouri. Schools will be the first to know, so that students are protected. Officials have prepared as best they can for these protests. Hopefully no one else gets hurt in what will no doubt go down in history as either a devastating blow or incredible boost for civil rights in this country.

    What do you expect the Michael Brown verdict will be?

  • Michael Brown Verdict: Schools Will Be Told First

    The Michael Brown verdict will be known likely before the end of November.

    As the community of Ferguson and surrounding areas prepare for the reaction following the Michael Brown verdict, it has been reported that the schools in the area will be alerted of the verdict three hours before the media, or 24 hours if the decision is reached on a weekend.

    Hazelwood School District spokesman Jack Wang says districts won’t be told what the decision is, but will be told only that a decision has been reached so that students can be released and have time to get home before possible protests break out.

    Reportedly, at least 600 potential demonstrators have received training on how to protest peacefully following a grand jury announcement on the Michael Brown verdict. The organizers say they are stressing non-violence.

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eKw2kY5Bni4

    “We as a community of people, we aren’t going to use violent power,” said Michael McPhearson, co-chairman of the Don’t Shoot Coalition. “We’re going to use people power to change things.”

    However, some in the community seem to have a much different agenda and four “hot spots” have been identified for violence. The Ferguson police station, a part of West Florissant Avenue near a convenience store that burned the day after Michael Brown’s death, a Clayton business district, and the Shaw Neighborhood, where an officer-involved fatal shooting occurred last month, will all likely be under heavy police and National Guard surveillance.

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UuVtsk9xnrw

    Some groups, like RbG Black Rebels, have made threats of violence against Officer Darren Wilson, Ferguson police, National Guard, and even shop owners who try to protect their livelihoods from looters.

    Hopefully, the school district’s early alerts will help children be able to avoid any violence should any of these threats come to fruition after the Michael Brown verdict is announced.

    What do you think of the possibility of extreme violence in and around Ferguson? Is it justified?

  • Michael Brown Verdict: Bounty On Officer’s Head

    The Michael Brown verdict has yet to be heard, but one black militant group is preparing for “war” and has offered $5,000 for the location of Officer Darren Wilson.

    The group, known as RbG Black Rebels, insists that they only want to get a photo of the man who shot Michael Brown and ask him some questions, but their motives became highly suspect when other tweets began flooding to and from the group.

    Missouri Governor Jay Nixon has already declared a State of Emergency and he has called in the National Guard to prepare for the violence that is sure to come. FBI agents have described violence as “inevitable” when the Grand Jury delivers their verdict sometime between now and the end of November.

    Will the National Guard be enough? Some Ferguson police may not think so.

    One policeman is concerned about what will happen once the Michael Brown verdict is announced. He said on St Louis Cop Talk, under the username A Concerned Cop, “If you do not have a gun, get one and get one soon. We will not be able to protect you or your family.”

    The user continued, “It will be your responsibility to protect them. Our gutless commanders and politicians have neutered us. I’m serious, get a gun, get more than one, and keep one with you at all times.”

    These kinds of remarks ahead of the Michael Brown verdict announcement are almost as unsettling as RbG Black Rebels saying, “7.62cal (ammunition) will solve alot of problems” in a tweet that has since been removed.

    While there is no way to know exactly what will happen once the Michael Brown verdict is announced, RbG Black Rebels and their supporters seem quite serious. They seem to have no faith in the justice system. They also don’t seem to trust the autopsy results that support some eyewitness accounts that Michael Brown was charging officer Wilson when he was shot, not standing with his hands up and back toward him.

    What do you think will happen after the Michael Brown verdict is announced? Do you think these kinds of threats and violence are justified?

  • Michael Brown Verdict: Will The Outcome Lead To Violent Protests In Ferguson?

    It seems the state of Missouri is bracing for the possibility that a grand jury might acquit Darren Wilson, the police officer who shot 18-year-old Michael Brown. The governor of Missouri declared a state of emergency ahead of a grand jury’s decision on whether or not to prosecute Wilson. Days after the shooting, the suburb of Ferguson in Missouri caught the world’s attention because of violent clashes between police and protesters. According to Governor Jay Nixon, the National Guard will be deployed to assist police officers in case there’s unrest following the grand jury’s decision.

    It is still unclear when the grand jury will make their decision, but prosecutors expect the deliberations to be done before the end of November. The state of emergency will last for 30 days and will only be extended as soon as another order is filed. St. Louis Mayor Francis Slay discussed the role that the National Guard will play during the state of emergency. According to Slay, the role of the National Guard will only be secondary to that of the local police force.

    An FBI bulletin issued last Friday warned nationwide law enforcement agencies that the upcoming grand jury on the Michael Brown case may lead to attacks by protesters. “The announcement of the grand jury’s decision will likely be exploited by some individuals to justify threats and attacks against law enforcement and critical infrastructure,” the FBI said in the bulletin. “This also poses a threat to those civilians engaged in lawful or otherwise constitutionally protected activities.”

    The controversy surrounding Brown’s death, as well as the violent protests that followed, prompted some organizations to move their conventions elsewhere. One such organization is the Church of God In Christ, who used to hold their annual convention in Missouri. The church’s bishop sent a letter to Nixon expressing concerns about the shooting, and that they’re considering relocating their conference somewhere else.

    The grand jury’s decision will ultimately seal Darren Wilson’s fate and the verdict will determine whether or not he will go to trial for shooting Michael Brown. According to Wilson, he shot Brown in self-defense after the teen supposedly attacked him. Witnesses have come forward saying otherwise, and that Wilson reportedly shot Brown while the African-American teen had his hands up. An autopsy conducted by Dr. Michael Baden at the request of Brown’s family, concluded that Brown was shot at least six times, with the final bullet striking Brown in the top of the head.

  • Michael Brown Verdict Has Ferguson on Edge as Law Enforcement and Residents Prepare For Violence

    The impending grand jury verdict in the shooting death of Ferguson, Missouri teenager Michael Brown has the city on edge as it prepares for violence.

    City, state and national authorities are combining forces to prepare for the demonstrations that are likely to ensue following the announcement.

    The grand jury is deciding whether to indict Ferguson Police Officer Darren Wilson after fatally shot Brown last August. Racial tensions have been heightened for months becaue Wilson is white and Brown was black.

    According to ABC News, stores are boarding up windows and civil rights groups are holding non-violence training sessions to prepare.

    City officials fear the grand jury’s decision could lead to public outbursts no matter which way the jury rules, but are more concerned that the grand jury will decide against indicting Wilson.

    Benjamin Crump, a Brown family attorney, pleaded with protesters to remain non-violent and asked for police restraint.

    “To law enforcement officers who will be patrolling the streets, we would like to thank you in advance for not having a repeat” of the tactics that critics said were heavy handed.

    Residents of Ferguson are just as nervous as law enforcement, especially gun shop owners.

    “We’re hearing some rather specific threats through law enforcement and customers coming in the store,” John Stephenson, the general manager of Metro Shooting Supplies in nearby Bridgeton, told ABC News. “I can’t take them as cast in concrete, but word is on the street they’re going to be hitting gun stores.”

    Stephenson said the store has seen a 300 percent increase in sales in recent weeks. He said he fears his store will be targeted because “very small segment of our society, the people that choose to misbehave,” will try to rob the stores for ammunition.

    “More and more people have gotten to the point where they’re going to take matters into their hands,” Stephenson said.

    Missouri Gov. Jay Nixon, who declared a state of emergency in anticipation of violence, said this week he is determined to make sure riots like those that occurred in August are not repeated.

    “Violence will not be tolerated,” Nixon said. “The residents and businesses of this region will be protected.”