Police arrested several protesters last night in Ferguson, Missouri during demonstrations to mark the anniversary of Michael Brown’s death. Brown was the unarmed black teenager fatally shot by Ferguson police officer Darren Wilson on Aug. 9, 2014, in an incident that brought long-standing racial tensions to a head throughout the United States and helped launch the “Black Lives Matter” movement.
The protests in Ferguson and surrounding St. Louis County this week have not been as chaotic or violent as the riots that erupted at this time last year, but isolated scuffles and an exchange of gunfire on Aug. 8—in which an 18 year-old was critically wounded by police—set people on edge and prompted county officials to declare a state of emergency yesterday.
High-profile activists including Cornel West, DeRay McKesson, and Johnetta Elzie were among the dozens arrested in St. Louis during the afternoon. Elzie went on the record before her arrest to assure the public that she is not suicidal—a nod to the controversial death of Sandra Bland.
Between 10pm and 1 am in Ferguson, roughly two dozen people were arrested for not complying with police orders to move out of the street:
Elsewhere in St. Louis County, earlier in the day:
