Jay Nixon
Governor of Missouri
By Elaine Magliaro
On Monday, Missouri Governor Jay Nixon declared a state of emergency. The FBI also issued a bulletin “warning of likely violence across the country as a St. Louis County grand jury concludes its investigation of Ferguson police officer Darren Wilson.”
Wesley Lowery (Washington Post) reported that Governor Nixon’s announcement “allows him to mobilize the state’s National Guard to keep order…”–and that it has added “to the overflowing docket of anxiety in greater St. Louis as the city braces for the expected news that Wilson will not be charged” in the shooting death of the unarmed black teenager Michael Brown. According to Lowery, the FBI bulletin “warned law enforcement agencies that protesters are likely to attack police officers and federal agents after the decision.” The bulletin concluded, “The FBI assesses those infiltrating and exploiting otherwise legitimate public demonstrations with the intent to incite and engage in violence could be armed with bladed weapons or firearms, equipped with tactical gear/gas masks, or bulletproof vests to mitigate law enforcement measures.”
Charles Pierce (Esquire) said it appeared that Nixon’s decision “to declare a pre-emptive state of emergency in anticipation of widespread disapproval of what a grand jury plans to do in the case of Darren Wilson is having the same salubrious effects around the country that it is having in Ferguson.”
Pierce:
Congratulations, FBI. Now people in Dubuque and Missoula are gearing up. Well-played, folks. And, in and around ground zero in Missouri, Second Amendment remedies are becoming popular, especially among angry costumed lunatics.
The “costumed lunatics” that Pierce was talking about are the Ku Klux Klan leaders who distributed fliers in Ferguson that threatened “lethal force” against protesters.
Law enforcement officials have warned of groups of “outside agitators” who might descend on Ferguson and incite violence after the grand jury announcement is made. “These people are afraid,” said Steve King, the owner of Metro Shooting Supplies in nearby Bridgeton. King said that his store typically sells 30 to 40 firearms a week. This week, it has sold 250. “One hundred percent of them are buying because of Ferguson.”
Pierce thinks that Governor Nixon, the FBI, the KKK, “and many of the citizens are all on the same page.” He said that he generally agrees “with the concept of a coordinated response”–but feels that this is “just a touch ridiculous.” He added, “Naturally, this particular coordinated response has alarmed some people, especially since the National Guard is coming to town in time for the holidays.”
According to St. Louis Police Chief Sam Dotson, the National Guard “will be deployed to between 35 and 40 locations where the unified command has determined that, based on past protests and property destruction, it would be wise to have a ‘presence.'” Dotson said, “The National Guard is not coming to militarize the response. It’s a multiplier. It helps us protect our community.”
Pierce expressed concern about calling up the National Guard…considering past history:
Tell you what, Chief. Why don’t you and a few friends sit yourself around a table, hold hands, dim the lights, and have yourself a seance whereby you chat with the Ghost of Ross Barnett about how the presence of the National Guard doesn’t “militarize” a response. Or the Ghosts of Bill Schroeder, Allison Krause, Sandy Scheuer, and Jeff Miller. Or the Ghosts of 43 People in Detroit. The Guard is a military organization, as many Guardsmen who served under the unsteady command of C-Plus Augustus in Iraq can tell you. Their weaponry and their training are all military. In some cases, such as a response to a natural disaster, this plain fact is evinced simply by the Guard’s military efficiency. In this case, however, it will be evinced by bayonets and tanks. And the examples cited occurred when the Guard was called in to face a situation that already had begun. In this case, Nixon has called in the Guard before anything has happened. So, Chief, the response is already “militarized.” Multiply that.
Pierce said that if Officer Darren Wilson “gets no-billed, there will be a reaction, and all of it will not occur in Missouri.” He added, “I don’t think I’m out of line when I wonder whether or not said reaction will be used as a test case for how much official violence the general public will tolerate to be kept safe from Unruly Others in the street. I do not think I want to know the answer to that.”
SOURCES
Jay Nixon’s the One Leading the Coming Storm in Ferguson (Esquire)
Mo. governor declares state of emergency in expectation of more Ferguson unrest (Washington Post)
Nicole Plyler Fisk
Gene Howington
FFS Guest Blogger
Joy of Fishes
Chuck Stanley
shortfinals
Terry Welshans
ann li-summers
wordcloud9
Flowers For Socrates 
Martin Luther King, Malcom X and Nelson Madella are toasting their glasses and getting the popcorn buttered, for what is about to be one of the most spectacular shows upon the earth.
You can’t put the bullchit back in the container, when the manure has been spread everywhere!
Elaine,
Thanks for giving the fix the attention it deserves.
“…if Officer Darren Wilson “gets no-billed, there will be a reaction, and all of it will not occur in Missouri.””
IF?
I’m rather surprised that the preparations for the coming storm only occurred after Michael Brown was shot.
Or wasn’t this thing orchestrated quite that far back?
Nixon knows exactly what the verdict will be. He’s known it since August, probably.
Here comes the Mob and the Guilt Syndicate…
Will the “Mother May I?” rule be posted publicly, before the “verdict” is released?
The racial equivalent of the clarion call of “Weapons of Mass destruction.”
Isn’t it fascinating how this process seems to be “stretched out” for so long. A more suspicious person might think that this is being orchestrated to fray tensions to the point that there will be extensive violence. The expectations of this violence could be the driving force in assuring it will occur, thus allowing the official “backlash” to brutally occur with the approval of all…..Whites.
But wait……perhaps I’m being too paranoid……the forces of White privilege aren’t that devious….are they?…….Let’s look at the history books.
IMHO,I think the folks and I hope and pray that I’m right will not do what the pundits have been predicting,peaceful dissent will will send the message that we as Black People are not savages and think through and hopefully see the oppurtunity to make a really bad negative into a positive.
Over 3 months to get a grand jury to bill or not ? Come on.
I’ve noted the recent rise in popularity of the code word, “animals,” to describe the commoners of Ferguson, in our post-racial society.
“The South gonna rise agin!”
The Confederacy has just been biding its time.
Missouri Gov. Jay Nixon Won’t Say Whether The Buck Stops With Him In Ferguson Protests
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/11/17/jay-nixon-ferguson-grand-jury_n_6174954.html
Excerpt:
Missouri Gov. Jay Nixon (D) on Monday couldn’t answer a question asking who’s in charge of policing protests that may flare when a grand jury decides whether to indict Ferguson Police Officer Darren Wilson for the death of unarmed teenager Michael Brown.
St. Louis County has 90 municipalities, and none seemed accountable for the police response to often turbulent protests that followed Brown’s shooting in August. As the grand jury nears a decision and activists prepare for new protests, Nixon on Monday ordered a state of emergency and activated the National Guard — but didn’t put state law enforcement in charge.
Missouri’s most famous politician — former President Harry Truman — popularized the phrase, “The buck stops here.” But in a conference call on Monday, Nixon fumbled when asked whether the buck stops with him on policing a new round of protests.
“Well I mean, we’re, um, it, uh, it, uh, you know — our goal here is to, is to, is to — you know, keep the peace and allow folks’ voices to be heard,” Nixon said on the call. “I don’t spend a tremendous amount of time personalizing this vis-a-vis me.
“I’d prefer not to be a commentator on it,” he added.
Nasheed demands Nixon withdraw ‘state of emergency’
http://www.ksdk.com/story/news/local/ferguson/2014/11/19/nasheed-demands-nixon-withdraw-state-of-emergency/19296657/
ST. LOUIS – Missouri State Senator Jamilah Nasheed (D-St. Louis) is demanding Governor Jay Nixon to rescind his ‘state of emergency’ order to put the National Guard on alert ahead of the Ferguson grand jury decision.
Sen. Nasheed said Nixon’s actions are unconstitutional due to the specific wording of the law granting the governor power to proclaim a state of emergency.
Nasheed said the governor’s decision sets “our communities up for failure” and “further feed(s) the mass hysteria we are so desperately trying to avoid.”
Questions are being raised about whether Governor Jay Nixon has the authority to declare a state of emergency prior to there actually being an emergency. NewsChannel 5’s Leisa Zigman takes a closer look at the issue. KSDK
The real “state of emergency” in Ferguson
http://www.dailykos.com/story/2014/11/19/1346023/-The-real-state-of-emergency-in-Ferguson
Excerpt:
Missouri Governor Jay Nixon’s declaration of a “state of emergency” in Ferguson is bad news in many ways, but I’ve been struggling with finding a way to express my outrage. Then, yesterday, someone did it for me.
In a short interview on CNN, Ferguson activist Tory Russell—one of the founders of Hands Up United—said it all.
Asked by CNN interviewer Brooke Baldwin for his response to Governor Nixon’s state of emergency declaration, Russell said:
I live in one of the poorest zip codes in the state. I constantly live in a state of emergency. People—black and brown bodies walking down the street—I don’t think that’s a cause for a state of emergency.
If you look at the unemployment rate in Missouri and St. Louis—that’s a state of emergency. If you look at homeless veterans who sleep at [St. Louis City] Mayor Slay’s City Hall—that’s a state of emergency, not black and brown bodies hitting the floor and being chalked down or even chanting. I can’t understand it.
[Note: In that last section, Russell was referring to a demonstration over the weekend during which protesters lay down in the street and had their bodies outlined with chalk, to symbolize black victims of police shootings.]
Gov. Nixon’s action is not only premature, it’s downright inflammatory, and as Russell said so well, it’s misdirected. And when asked why he did it and whether he’s the person who will be in charge and accountable for the consequences, Gov. Nixon couldn’t even come up with a coherent explanation.
Isn’t the Governor basically saying it’s time for state of the emergency since there “won’t” be an indictment by the grand jury?
Somehow I doubt the governor is doing much without the advice and concurrence of the feds.
Isn’t it strange the government has such fear of its citizens – despite the preponderance of non violent demonstrators immediately after the shooting.
http://www.cnn.com/2014/11/20/justice/ferguson-grand-jury-ruling/index.html
Grand Jury Decision on Ferguson Officer Darren Wilson Could Come Friday
“Prosecutor Robert McCulloch has said he plans to make public all evidence and testimony presented to the grand jury, but there is growing concern on how to deal with identities of people who have testified, the sources say.”
“In some cases, witnesses might have testified differently under oath, providing different accounts than the ones they gave in media interviews, the official explained.”
…hmmmm, some witnesses lied to the media. Wanna guess which ones, lol.
A lie in the Darren Wilson defense in the shooting death of Mike Brown that just won’t go away
http://www.dailykos.com/story/2014/11/19/1346078/-A-lie-in-the-Darren-Wilson-defense-in-the-shooting-death-of-Mike-Brown-that-just-won-t-go-away
Excerpt:
Where the Lie Began
On August 10, 2014, St. Louis County Police Chief John Belmar held his first press conference on the shooting of Mike Brown by Officer Darren Wilson of the nearby Ferguson Police Department. His force had been called in to take over the investigation for the much smaller local department. The shooting had occurred less than 24 hours earlier, and the tensions on the ground in Ferguson were already red hot and boiling over.
Six different witnesses on the scene claimed that Mike Brown was shot at repeatedly from behind before he turned around, faced Darren Wilson, verbally surrendered, and put his hands in the air. Wilson, having already shot at Mike Brown at least six times while he fled, then fired off a barrage of four quick shots at the surrendered Brown he was looking at face to face, killing him on the spot. With his lifeless body face down on the road, Mike Brown’s blood literally flowed down Canfield Drive for more than four hours. The shooting and the aftermath that evening, which included bringing police dogs to the scene, infuriated residents as never before, and the anger was spreading rapidly across St. Louis and into the nation.
When Chief Belmar sat down the next day to brief the press on his summary of the facts, he stated at 1:13 (and then even more emphatically at 6:01) in the video below, “The entire scene, from approximately the car door (of Officer Wilson) to the shooting, is, uh, about 35 feet.”
At that time, when the chief said the “entire scene” was just 35 feet in distance from the “car door to the shooting,” every observer accepted it as a negligible fact and thought little about it, instead zeroing in on why Darren Wilson stopped Mike Brown in the first place and why a police officer would shoot a young man who was surrendering with his hands up.
It turns, out, though, that the distance Mike Brown fled was not 35 feet, as was stated in the press conference and cited in hundreds of articles since. Nor was it 45 feet, or 75 feet, or even 95 feet, but approximately 108 feet away from Darren Wilson’s SUV. Below, you will find photos from the day of the murder, maps, infographics, and more to confirm for you that the distance was nearly 300 percent farther away than originally claimed by Chief Belmar and subsequently quoted as fact in almost every narrative of the case.
While the initial reporting of this distance from the chief could have been an error, albeit an egregious one, it seems clear now, after over 100 days of requests for the police to clarify this discrepancy have only produced silence, that it wasn’t an oversight, but a deliberate misrepresentation of the facts.
What reason would the chief have for so seriously understating the distance by more than 70 feet? Well, how far Mike Brown fled matters greatly, and the St. Louis County Police Department could have many reasons for purposely understating it. One doubts, though, that they expected to be caught telling this lie. When it was first told, while matters were tense in St. Louis and spreading on social media, nobody had any idea that this case would grip the nation and the world.
Nivico,
“…hmmmm, some witnesses lied to the media. Wanna guess which ones, lol.”
No. Why don’t you tell us which ones, lol?
I think we should also recognize the strategic effect of Nixon’s announcements. It shifts the focus from the actual grand jury report to the people who will protest it.
Is Darren Wilson receiving affirmative action?
http://www.detroitnews.com/story/opinion/2014/11/20/darren-wilson-affirmative-action/19291009/
Excerpt:
Is Ferguson, Mo., police officer Darren Wilson receiving affirmative action, special treatment or an unfair advantage in the grand jury proceedings in St. Louis County?
Perhaps we should ask the drug-dealing defendants the St. Louis County Prosecutor’s Office commonly indicts. Perhaps we should ask the last 200 black defendants that office indicted.
We should ask them whether the prosecutor’s office offered them any of these benefits in their grand jury proceedings: the privilege of testifying; the advantage of exculpatory information and possible defenses; the benefit of having the prosecutors provide corroborating evidence, such as forensics reports or coroner’s examinations, that verified their stories and claims of innocence; the edge of a narrative that highlights their blamelessness and sublimates their guilt; and legal instructions to match the evidence to sundry possible charges, as opposed to a recommendation of what should be charged.
No doubt Wilson, who shot and killed unarmed black teen Michael Brown, has received more favorable treatment than any target of any investigation in St. Louis County history.
The breadth of exculpatory materials — used to prove someone is free from blame — the prosecutors have presented to the grand jurors in Wilson’s case, let alone the abandonment of standard grand jury protocols, is surprising if not shocking.
No law requires the prosecutors to submit possible defenses to the grand jury. The prosecution’s decision to do so remains unexplained, particularly in light of the relatively simple task before the grand jury.
if the KKK is for it, I am against it on general principles.
Darren Wilson Support Video Emerges as Grand Jury Decides Officer’s Fate; Criticizes Obama and Late Teen Michael Brown
http://www.christianpost.com/news/darren-wilson-support-video-emerges-as-grand-jury-decides-officers-fate-criticizes-obama-and-late-teen-michael-brown-129980/
Excerpt:
A new video created by supporters of police officer Darren Wilson is critical of President Barack Obama for not reaching out to the Ferguson officer after the shooting death of Michael Brown on Aug. 9.
The 7-minute clip shows footage of Brown and Wilson supporters; the late-teen is referred to as a “thug criminal,” while great sympathy is given to the officer. The video is set to the songs “Don’t Stop Believing” by Journey and “We’re Not Gonna Take It” by Twisted Sister.
Union: Ferguson cop Darren Wilson doesn’t expect to be charged
http://www.cbsnews.com/news/union-ferguson-cop-darren-wilson-doesnt-expect-to-be-charged/
Excerpt:
JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. — The suburban St. Louis police officer who fatally shot Michael Brown does not appear to expect criminal charges from a Missouri grand jury that has been investigating the case for several months, a police union official said Thursday.
Jeff Roorda, business manager for the St. Louis Police Officers’ Association, said he met Thursday with Ferguson officer Darren Wilson, who has remained secluded from the public eye since the Aug. 9 shooting that sparked tense and occasionally violent protests and drew national attention.
Wilson, who was placed on paid administrative leave following the shooting, has been under a lot of pressure and stress but seems confident in the outcome of the grand jury investigation, Roorda said.
“It’s fair to say that neither he nor his defense team expect an indictment,” Roorda said, offering his impression of the situation based on the conversation with Wilson.
Elaine,
Could you look around the filter and see if there’s a comment for this thread from me this morning (11/20 around noon) I know I spent time composing one but then I left for the hospital. If it isn’t in the filter then I neglected to hit the post icon.
Blouise,
Sorry. Nothing in the filter from you. 😦
One of those days. Thanx, Gene
Officer Wilson will apparently resign.
http://www.kspr.com/news/nationworld/urgent-darren-wilson-future/21051646_29853800
Slartibartfast,
From your link:
(CNN) — Ferguson, Missouri, Police Officer Darren Wilson is in the final stages of negotiations with city officials to resign, according to people close to the talks. Wilson is a white police officer who shot and killed Michael Brown, a black teen, in Ferguson on August 9.
———–
Have to wonder what there is to negotiate? Maybe he’s being paid to leave the force?
Here’s an interesting little story from our Cleveland paper.
http://www.cleveland.com/nation/index.ssf/2014/11/hacker_group_anonymous_attacks.html#incart_related_stories
Have to wonder what there is to negotiate? – Elaine
Exactly. I think the job paid less than $50,000 a year so he’s not one of the department’s high wage earners and with only 4 years seniority, not even a long term employee. Cops across the country quit their jobs everyday with simple letters of resignation. With what is Wilson negotiating unless it’s the threat to stay. So, let’s say he doesn’t get indicted and stays on the job. How effective will be be driving the streets of Ferguson in his patrol car?
blouise,
Ferguson officer Darren Wilson in talks to resign from police force, sources say
http://www.cnn.com/2014/11/20/us/darren-wilson-future/index.html
Excerpt:
Ferguson, Missouri (CNN) — Ferguson Police Officer Darren Wilson, who shot and killed teenager Michael Brown on August 9, is in the final stages of negotiations with city officials to resign, according to people close to the talks.
Wilson maintains he hasn’t done anything wrong, and the resignation talks have hinged on whether a grand jury returns an indictment against him in the death of Brown, people close to the talks said.
Wilson has told associates he would resign as a way to help ease pressure and protect his fellow officers. Wilson has expressed concern about resigning while the grand jury was hearing evidence for fear it would appear he was admitting fault.
Wilson has told associates he would resign as a way to help ease pressure and protect his fellow officers.
What a guy.
Don’t know if this is true:
Anonymous: Ferguson Killer Cop Darren Wilson ‘Linked to KKK Ghoul Squad’
http://www.ibtimes.co.uk/anonymous-ferguson-killer-cop-darren-wilson-linked-kkk-ghoul-squad-1475953
Excerpt:
In it latest statement, Anonymous claims there is a strong link between the TAKKKK and the Ferguson police department, and in the last week has published evidence showing that three high-ranking members of the TAKKKK attended a support rally for Darren Wilson in Imperial, Missouri – evidence which has now been removed from social media websites.
The group claims members of the law enforcement community in the area are silent members of the TAKKKK and call themselves the ‘Ghoul Squad’.
This claim is substantiated by an ex-member of the TAKKKK called Henry Harrell who told Anonymous: “I know for a fact that the TAKKKK had a lot to do with what went on in Ferguson.”
Update on the distance from Wilson’s SUV from an actual measurement.
http://www.dailykos.com/story/2014/11/20/1346374/-BREAKING-VIDEO-Police-Lied-Mike-Brown-was-killed-148-feet-away-from-Darren-Wilson-s-SUV#
“131 feet, 1 inch (Distance between the fire hydrant and where Mike Brown died)
+ 17 feet (distance between the fire hydrant and the driver’s side door of Darren Wilson’s SUV)
= 148 feet.
The St. Louis-area police have continued to advance this lie for over 104 days since Mike Brown was killed on Canfield Drive on the afternoon of August 9 in Ferguson, Missouri. Here we will methodically expose this lie and examine just why it’s so important.”
Bettykath,
Doesn’t 148 feet seem to be a hard sell for the idea of “imminent danger?”
I wonder what testimony regarding the distance was given to the grand jury. McCulloch promised to release the transcripts if Wilson is not indicted.
http://news.stlpublicradio.org/post/if-officer-wilson-not-indicted-mcculloch-plans-release-grand-jury-transcripts-recordings
Elaine,
If any of this stuff regarding the hacker group Anonymous and the KKK is true, then that little side war could be interesting as Anonymous is a worldwide group rather immune to the threats of the Traditional American KKK (TAKKK).
As one Anonymous member writes: ‘A person using the name “anonpanda” pointed out to The Huffington Post the KKK was “an easy target to pick on, cuz we kinda get the moral high ground.” The user said, “i could not give a bother about the KKK… i am norwegian, they dont bother me.”‘
Mike, “Doesn’t 148 feet seem to be a hard sell for the idea of ‘imminent danger?’”
Exactly. Think that’s why the coverup began with a serious distortion of that distance? It was the chief’s statement that was picked up by most commentators as being the “truth”.
The article at the link shows a panoramic view that’s enlightening, along with other useful photos.
Another part of the story is changing to help Wilson. The chief released the video of the convenience story incident at the same time as he named Wilson, suggesting, without saying so, that that was the reason for the interaction. Later, he was very specific that Wilson was not aware of the incident at the convenience store. Now the story is that, yes, he knew all about it. It wasn’t a shoplifting as originally reported, a misdemeanor, but the strong-arm robbery, a felony, that wasn’t known until the cops got the surveillance video with a warrant. Warrants take time, more than a few seconds, to get. Mike Brown had been murdered before the cops had the video tape.
The WAPO has an interesting article that indicates AG Holder’s frustration with governor Nixon:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/national-security/holder-frustrated-with-mo-governor-over-actions-before-ferguson-grand-jury-decision/2014/11/21/d61b43cc-717e-11e4-ad12-3734c461eab6_story.html?hpid=z3
I found this quote from an aid of AG Holder interesting:
“Instead of de-escalating the situation, the governor escalated it,” said the official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak on the subject. “He sent the wrong message. The tone of the press conference was counterproductive.”
We can be absolutely certain only about things we do not understand.
–Eric Hoffer