Missouri Deploys National Guard to Ferguson

Governor says Guard will 'restore peace and order'
By Rob Quinn,  Newser Staff
Posted Aug 18, 2014 3:17 AM CDT
Updated Aug 18, 2014 4:33 AM CDT
National Guard Sent to Ferguson
A protester stands in the street after police fired tear gas in Ferguson last night.   (AP Photo/Charlie Riedel)

Missouri Gov. Jay Nixon ordered the National Guard to Ferguson early today, hours after another violent night. The National Guard will help "in restoring peace and order" to the St. Louis suburb that has been rocked by angry protests since the fatal police shooting of unarmed 18-year-old Michael Brown, Nixon said in a statement, as per the AP. "These violent acts are a disservice to the family of Michael Brown and his memory and to the people of this community who yearn for justice to be served and to feel safe in their own homes," Nixon said.

In Ferguson, another day of protests ended in violence after tear gas was fired at marchers approaching a police command post ahead of a midnight curfew, reports the Wall Street Journal. Police say Molotov cocktails were thrown at them and shots were fired, though protesters dispute that account. "That is a lie. It was no fight, it was no shots fired," a protester tells CNN. "The only ones who fired was police. All we did was march to the command center to fall to our knees and say, 'Don't shoot.' And they started shooting." "Based on the conditions, I had no alternative but to elevate the level of response," said Capt. Ron Johnson of the Missouri Highway Patrol, who is in command in Ferguson. At least two people were wounded in shootings, he said. (More Jay Nixon stories.)

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