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U.S. ATTORNEY GENERAL ARRIVES • PROTESTS CONTINUE • DAY-NIGHT DICHOTOMY
GRAND JURY CONVENES ALL EVIDENCE MAY NOT BE PRESENTED UNTIL MID-OCTOBER
Justice Center is target of marches FROM STAFF REPORTS
A smaller, quieter protest formed in Ferguson on a sultry Wednesday night after other marches converged upon the St. Louis County Justice Center in Clayton, where a grand jury has begun examining the Michael Brown case. In Ferguson, crowds of barely 200 protesters walked along West Florissant Avenue at Canfield Drive, which has been the scene of protests, frequent disruptions and occasional looting for 11 consecutive nights. Violence erupted with the burning of a QuikTrip on Aug. 10, one day after Ferguson police officer Darren Wilson shot and killed Brown, 18, on a street in the nearby Canfield Green apartments. Wednesday’s steamy heat, with a temperature of 76 and 82 percent humidity even at 11 p.m., appeared to have subdued the gathering, as did a cloudburst that hit shortly after 8 p.m. The crowd grew later, but nothing like previous nights. M i n i s te rs, m a ny wea ring orange T-shirts marked with “Clergy United,” mingled through the crowd and stepped in when young protesters appeared to get rowdy. “When things heat up we don’t mind jumping into the middle of the fuss because we know who watches us,” said Pastor Doug Hollis, of St. Louis, a member of Clergy United. Police officers stood in clusters, not riot lines, and kept protesters moving. Wednesday night was quieter than Tuesday, which had been less rowdy than Monday night, when police fired tear gas. Police made numerous arrests both nights. Tension flared briefly Wednesday night when a man and a woman who support officer Wilson showed up with signs. Many in the crowd shouted at them, and police quickly removed them by squad car. Fortunately, the
HUY MACH • hmach@post-dispatch.com Protesters march along West Florissant Avenue on Wednesday as a passing storm brought rain and lightning that lit up the night sky.
Holder talks of change in Ferguson visit BY KEVIN McDERMOTT kmcdermott@post-dispatch.com 314-340-8268
See BROWN • Page A6
public statements. By the time police released his name on Friday, any social media accounts had been deactivated. Just one photograph of him emerged, apparently scraped from his father’s Facebook account by Yahoo! News before the account was deactivated. A handful of supporters have spoken on his behalf; none from his inner circle. Union officials from Missouri Fraternal Order of Police Lodge 15 did not return calls and
FERGUSON • U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder met privately Wednesday with the parents of Michael Brown, part of a one-day swing through the region by the nation’s top law enforcement official in the wake of 12 nights of riots and strife. The stated purpose of Holder’s visit was to get a first-person update from Department of Justice officials here on the status of the pending federal investigation into Brown’s Aug. 9 shooting death by a Ferguson police officer. After meeting with his own St. Louis-based underlings, Holder met with Missouri Gov. Jay Nixon and key members of the state’s congressional delegation, including both its U.S. senators. But the trip also had a clear tone-setting component, designed to show the White House is taking the Ferguson conflict seriously, in the hope of easing tension in the community. In addition to his private meeting with Brown’s parents, Holder met with students at an area community college, chatted with patrons of a Ferguson diner and literally embraced Missouri Highway Patrol Capt. Ronald S. Johnson, whose attempts
See WILSON • Page A7
See HOLDER • Page A10
CHRISTIAN GOODEN • cgooden@post-dispatch.com
A group of about 90 clergy members from several faiths called Clergy for a Moral Missouri march in protest from Clayton High School to the Buzz Westfall Justice Center in Clayton on Wednesday.
Living near protest zone is a struggle • A9 How schools are handling Ferguson discussions • A8 Rams let high school teams practice at Rams Park • C1 Family sues over Ferguson Taser death in 2011 • A10 Editorials & opinions Full coverage Live updates
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• STLtoday.com
Police Officer Wilson keeping low profile BY JEREMY KOHLER, DAVID HUNN AND ROBERT PATRICK Post-Dispatch
Twelve days after he shot and killed an unarmed teen, the Ferguson police officer behind the gun remains an enigma. While state and federal prosecutors investigate whether crimes were committed in the Aug. 9 killing of Michael Brown, and hundreds march to protest Brown’s death, Officer Darren Wilson has not been seen in public or made any
Darren Wilson
U.S. tried to rescue slain journalist McCLATCHY WASHINGTON BUREAU
JIM COLE • Associated Press
Diane and John Foley, James Foley’s parents, talk to reporters Wednesday in Rochester, N.H.
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WASHINGTON • President Barack Obama vowed on Wednesday justice for the Islamist killers of American journalist James Foley, as officials revealed that U.S. forces had launched a secret raid inside Syria last month to rescue him and other captives only to find they had been moved. As Obama spoke, U.S. forces launched 14 new airstrikes against the Islamic State, in defiance of the
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group’s threat Tuesday to kill a second American journalist if Obama didn’t end the attacks. European leaders, meanwhile, moved toward a more aggressive stand. Obama stressed that U.S. airstrikes would continue, and he indicated that the United States would pursue Foley’s killers. “When people harm Americans, anywhere, we do what’s necessary to see that justice is done. And we act against ISIL, standing alongside oth-
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ers,” he said, using the official U.S. acronym for the Islamic State, a spinoff of al-Qaida. White House officials pointed to last month’s attempt to underscore that the U.S. would spare no effort. A team of several dozen U.S. special forces operators entered Syria over the July 4 weekend, only to discover once on the ground that the captives had been moved, senior U.S. officials said See OBAMA • Page A5
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Lynn wins 14th as Cards sweep Reds Virginia same-sex unions blocked Hamas leader evades airstrikes
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2 M Vol. 136, No. 233 ©2014