Protestors in Clayton, Missouri are organizing, training, and planning on closing down the city following the Michael Brown grand jury decision. The plan is to try and hurt Clayton economically.
According to Fox 2 Now in St. Louis, protestors “will meet in public green spaces and then they may spread out in small groups possibly taking part in civil disobedience like shutting down roads.” Their original plan was to try and disrupt ongoing trials at the courthouse, but that offense carries a much steeper jail sentence than simply disrupting traffic.
The protest organizers are anticipating hundreds, possibly thousand of participants, but they are not promoting violence with this civil disobedience. Michael McPhearson, the co-founder of the Don’t Shoot Coalition said in a statement “We want the people to know these meetings are about non- violence direct action. Some of it will be people talking people expressing themselves. There’s nothing we’re doing to try to create violence. We don’t want to diminish tension without there being change.”
Anthony Gray and Benjamin Crump, the attorneys for the family of the slain Michael Brown, made a statement as well, imploring protestors to use some restraint. They reiterated the pleas from Governor Jay Nixon, who urged protestors to not allow things to turn into rioting or looting.
Ferguson Police were under fire for their use of force following the shooting of 18-year old Michael Brown. The unarmed Brown was shot multiple times by Darren Wilson, inciting a great deal of unrest among the citizens of Clayton, Missouri. Wilson claimed Brown was moving towards him in a threatening matter, but other witnesses claim Brown had his hands in the air. To combat protests, Ferguson Police used armored vehicles and tear gas to try and quell the outbursts in the streets.
The protestors in Clayton will hit the streets Monday if the Brown grand jury decision is delivered late Friday.
[photo credit: Stephen D. Melkisethian]