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Updated 12.53pm
UNITED STATES PRESIDENT Barack Obama has urged for calm ahead of a grand jury decision expected to trigger protests in the restive town of Ferguson, where the FBI arrested two men on firearms charges.
A grand jury in the St Louis suburb of Ferguson is looking at the racially charged shooting that saw white police officer Darren Wilson shoot unarmed 18-year-old Michael Brown, an African American.
The black teen’s death in August led to weeks of violence, and Missouri’s governor this week declared a state of emergency and activated the state National Guard ahead of the decision.
In a sign of just how heated unrest may be once the grand jury’s decision is made public, the FBI earlier this week arrested two suspected members of the new Black Panthers on outstanding warrants for purchasing two pistols, CBS News reported.
Citing an FBI spokesman, CBS said the two men were discovered during an FBI undercover operation buying explosive materials to possibly use during protests.
The St Louis residents were arraigned in federal court Friday.
The FBI separately announced it has deployed about 100 agents to St Louis in anticipation of the decision.
“First and foremost, keep protests peaceful,” Obama told ABC News.
“This is a country that allows everybody to express their views, allows them to peacefully assemble to protest actions that they think are unjust, but using any event as an excuse for violence is contrary to rule of law and contrary to who we are.”
Obama’s comments came after Brown’s father and Attorney General Eric Holder also made separate appeals.
“Thank you for lifting your voices to end racial profiling and police intimidation, but hurting others or destroying property is not the answer,” the victim’s father, Michael Brown Sr, said in a somber video plea.
No matter what the grand jury decides, I don’t want my son’s death to be in vain.
In the United States, grand juries meet in secret to review some cases before deciding whether criminal charges should be brought.
The jury could indict Wilson, meaning he could face trial, or it could determine there is no case for him to answer.
Authorities have previously said they expect the grand jury decision any time between mid- to late-November.
- © AFP, 2014. Originally published 9.36am
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Humans acting like humans
@Thinck: I wish it was more common. Horrific for them and everyone caught up in this act of evil.
@Paul P O’Sullivan: The fact that they’re homeless is irrelevant. They are human beings with human emotions and human compulsions and acted as such. Condescending of the media to highlight that they’re homeless. Clickbait.
@The Magnificent Hog: it’s pure clickbait !
@Thinck: like the Muslim taxi drivers that ferried people all over Manchester, for free, after the attacks? Or the Muslim doctors and nurses that rushed to work from their homes after the attack? There’s not much humanity shown on this particular site, people seem to be calling for a Hitleresque “solution”
@David: I laughed at the Muslim taxi drivers sign FREE LIFT and in small writing if needed
“Just because I’m homeless, it doesn’t mean I haven’t got a heart,” he said.
How they must think we see the homeless. Forgotten and uncared for
@john Appleseed: terrible that we make them feel that way. These men have such good hearts.
@john Appleseed: sure aren’t they all junkies who want free stuff and don’t want to do anything? Pft!
@john Appleseed:
That’s exactly have we treat the homeless
@Deborah Behan: people say something similar about Muslims… they’re all the same… the hypocrisy you read on this site is frightening.
David Sullivan the west ham co owner and his son have found this man and have paid 6 months rent on a house for him to help and say thank you
@Philip Tinkler: is that the same David Sullivan who made his fortune in the porn industry?
Wouldn’t be taking moral guidance from him.
@Tom Burke: That’s an interesting take Tom. Considering you take your moral guidance from a money making cult that has willingly facilitated paedophiles in raping young children. People who are no better than terrorists attacking children…..
@Lord Clanricarde: the porn industry that pays consenting adults to have sex.
Versus the Catholic Church who forced children against there will to have sex and then covered up the abuse and denied it happened for decades under Vatican orders.
Amusing when a Catholic tries to claim the porn industry is immoral
@Lord Clanricarde: still hiding behind that name ??? Show yourself demon ….
@Joe O’riordan: I am the Lord, kneel before me.
@Tom Burke: yes Tom its the same David that made his money legally, trying to help someone that has falling on hard times and clearly deserves a break. Maybe more of us should look at this example for moral guidance
@Lord Clanricarde: ill bet thats not the first time u said that !!!!!!
I cannot imagine the things he saw last night.
@Peter Cavey: however horrific, they were mild compared to some of the UK army bombing campaigns abroad that kill many multiples of the deathtoll in Manchester and even wipe out whole families with not one single family member left
Compassion, solidarity, humanity and charity. These are the nib,e human quantities. The evil terrorists are a tiny minority and atypical of human beings and human nature.
noble human qualities.
@Tony Daly: absolutely. In such tragedy it’s so heartwarming to hear stories about people helping each other.
Feel like I’ve not stopped crying since last night.
If anyone is on a watch list they should be deported. If anyone has any ties to anyone on a watch list they should be deported. If anyone has looked sideways at someone on a watch list they should be deported. Zero tolerance towards these vermin. They have waged war and the West is too PC to do enough about it. Find an island and send them all to it with no food and water. I’m almost siding with trump on this. Almost.
@Teddyzigzagbigbag: of there was sufficient evidence they would be arrested.
The Irish weren’t deported in 1996.
This guy was British, where would you like him to be deported to?
@Karl: you’ve made no sense there. Read my comment back and then read yours again.
@Teddyzigzagbigbag: ok say he was on a watch list.
He was a UK citizen, the UK cannot deport him anywhere.
@Barry Somers: I think I said stick these vermin on an island.
This two men did what everyone else did last night .. fair play and all but the whole city pulled together to help each other …
@Suzie Sunshine: * these
@Suzie Sunshine: Wow, so we can add the homeless to the list of minorities you hate now, you’re a real Grade A dick.
@DainBramage: where in my comment did I say I hate the homelessness? This is just pure clickbait. . Everybody helped each other over there last night ..
@DainBramage: You’re a Grade A troll
@Suzie Sunshine: ‘This is just pure clickbait’, says the genius who has commented on the story 8 times.
@Matty Kineven: new account Matty / Liam Egan? How is the weather in Wexford these days?
@DainBramage: Yawn
@DainBramage: says the genius who can’t count ..
@Suzie Sunshine: Glad you at least have admitted to trolling.
@Suzie Sunshine: yes, the two homeless men helped.
@Tony Daly: as did everyone else ?
Compassion, solidarity, humanity and charity. These are the noble human quantities.
The evil terrorists are a tiny minority and atypical of human beings and human nature.
Fair play to these guys.
Humanity. Amazing guys.
Society often treats Homeless people with disdain, whilst it might be a choice for some to be homeless (at times a way out from the society they wish to escape from) , these people rarely use their human instinct to be humane, kind and decent. Maybe the next time you come across a homeless human being, you might stop to think, that person has a story, had another life and perhaps show a little compassion and respect.
The government should be forced to give them homes (and therapy) for going above and beyond.
Im sure there are a lot of people’s lives that they have touched in just one night and most wouldn’t even give them a second of their time when passing in the street
Why should this man get all the credit just cos hes homeless im sure lots of people with hones were heroes too
Very tough, would be in a delicate state of mind to begin with from living homelessly. Witnessing this could shove someone into a total breakdown.
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