President Obama appeared wary today about the National Guard being sent to Ferguson, Missouri, saying he urged the governor to ensure the troops were involved in a "limited" way.
Missouri Gov. Jay Nixon ordered the state's National Guard to be
deployed to the city this morning after another violent night of clashes
between protesters and police over the shooting death of Michael Brown
on Aug. 9. Protesters have demanded that officer Darren Wilson be held
accountable for shooting Brown.
The prosecutor's office in St. Louis County, which has jurisdiction in
the case, said today a grand jury could begin hearing evidence against
Wilson as soon as Wednesday to determine if he will be charged in the
shooting.
Obama addressed the volatile situation in Ferguson for a second time in
recent days and said he called Nixon about his decision to send in the
Missouri National Guard.
"I spoke to Jay Nixon about this and expressed interest that if it was
used, it would be in a limited and appropriate way," Obama said this
afternoon. "He described the support role they’d be performing and I’ll
be watching to see that it’s helping, not hindering, progress."
Obama also said Attorney General Eric Holder would travel to Ferguson
Wednesday to meet with FBI and Department of Justice officials working
the case. Holder said today there are more than 40 FBI investigators in
Ferguson.
The state National Guard will arrive in Ferguson today to help protect
the city's police command center during the protests, while the Missouri
Highway Patrol continues to patrol the city.
Nixon order Guard's deployment this morning after protesters allegedly
threw Molotov cocktails and fired gunshots at police Sunday night after
the state-imposed curfew. Tonight there will be no curfew, Nixon said.
The governor later issued a statement saying, "The Guard's immediate and
limited responsibilities... are to provide protection, and ensure the
safety of our Unified Command Center, which was the target last night of
a coordinated attack."
Nixon said he signed the executive order after actions by violent
protesters Sunday night included "the firing upon law enforcement
officers, the shooting of a civilian, the throwing of Molotov cocktails,
looting and a coordinated attempt to overrun the unified Command
Center."
He said the Missouri State Highway Patrol and local police would remain in charge of policing the streets.
In addition, the governor said, "We will not use a curfew tonight."
Capt. Ron Johnson said today that he assured people that "protests will
be allowed," but he added that he would not "allowed vandals to impact
the safety of this community... or disrupt the soul of this community."
The police used tear gas Sunday night to clear protesters off the
streets of the St. Louis suburb, action that police say was necessary
because of shooting, looting and vandalism.
“When we saw violent acts … We had to act to protect lives and
property,” Missouri State Highway Patrol Captain Ron Johnson said at an
early-morning news conference.
The situation “took a very different turn after dark,” Johnson said,
deteriorating at 8:25 p.m. with a civilian shooting. Protesters fired at
police and threw Molotov cocktails, he said.
Sunday’s clashes continued more than a week’s worth of unrest in
Ferguson after the Aug. 9 death of Brown, 18. Activists raised their
hands, reflecting reports that Brown had his hands raised when the
officer fired.
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