Fight for Justice for Michael Brown in Ferguson:
Outrageous Arrests of Protesters
October 6, 2014 | Revolution Newspaper | revcom.us
The fight for justice for Mike Brown worked hard to stay on the offensive, as a group of about 50 people defiantly marched through a local Walgreens and Stop & Save in Ferguson on October 2, chanting and buying snacks, before heading to the infamous Ferguson police station. Though none of the protesters were in the street, they were suddenly and without warning set upon by police who marched in and grabbed and arrested about a dozen people. Witnesses said some of the youth arrested were identified and targeted by the cops. During the past week, the Ferguson police station has been the scene of determined protest night after night, and repeated arrests. Earlier in the week there was both a ministers’ protest and a protest marked by college students and other activists of all nationalities joining in larger numbers than before. These protests also resulted in many arrests.
Ferguson protesters leave arm-in-arm after being released from jail October 3. People have continued to demonstrate and confront authorities demanding that charges be brought against the cop who murdered Michael Brown nearly two months ago. (AP Photo)
Arrestees were eventually taken to a neighboring police lockup, put in orange jumpsuits (a first for Ferguson), slapped with high bail, and locked behind bars for hours longer than most others arrested in earlier demonstrations. Initial charges reportedly included failure to comply with a police order, noise ordinance violations, and resisting arrest. Ultimately most got out with no bond while three got out on a combined $2,000.
The continuing repression directed against protesters who refuse to be deterred has provoked growing outrage about wanton violations of people’s rights as well as sent authorities scrambling about how best to get control of the situation. On Thursday night, immediately after the arrests, religious people set up a vigil in the St. Ann police station demanding the arrestees’ release, as well as raising funds to pay bond. And on Friday, a change of command was announced. The St. Louis County Police would take over protest “security,” in others words, protest repression. The official announcement referred to the Ferguson Police Department being over stretched. The new commander, St. Louis County Police Chief Jon Belmar, also stated that Thursday night did give him a “sense of urgency.” Keep in mind that St. Louis County police themselves were involved in the Thursday night sweep and arrests, and they have been involved repeatedly over the last seven weeks in suppressing protest and brutalizing protesters.
The heart of the problem for authorities is that despite hundreds of arrests, and the use of tear gas, rubber bullets, dogs, “reform” packages and the Department of Justice's active role, the use of ordinances and many different police forces, a campaign of distortion and vilification in the media aimed at the defiant youth and also at revolutionaries, they have not been successful in stopping the protests. It’s day 55 since the murder of Mike Brown without an indictment or a day in jail for the killer cop, Darren Wilson.
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