As Ferguson, Mo., enters the sixth night following the death of unarmed teen Michael Brown, social media is just about the only way to keep up with what’s happening on the ground. Major news networks have been widely criticized for their failure to provide live coverage of the events surrounding Brown’s death, but a number of other professional and citizen journalists have stepped up to fill the gap.
After widespread criticism of its aggressive, unwarranted crowd control tactics, the St. Louis County police department will step down today. Tensions around the police presence in Ferguson escalated on Wenesday as the St. Louis County police force fired tear gas, rubber bullets, and LRAD sound cannons on peaceful protesters.
My face after tear gas. Stinging, eyes watering. I’m not getting out of this car. #ferguson #mikebrown pic.twitter.com/ALIVdhzlXa
— Christina Coleman (@ChristinaKSDK) August 14, 2014
As the local and Internet communities push for answers six days after his death, the name of the officer who killed 18-year-old Michael Brown remains unknown. Communities across the country are now rallying around the hashtag #NMOS14, organized by @FeministaJones, for local vigils, listed here (the Google Doc may not be up to date, so search Twitter for #NMOS14 and your city or state to find for more details on local events).
As Wednesday night demonstrated, Twitter is the best way to track what’s going on in Ferguson in real time, but two livestreams—Infowars and KARG Argus Radio—managed to stay up even as those filming fled plumes of tear gas, and will likely be back online Thursday night. For who to follow on Twitter, we’ve embedded a selection of hand-picked accounts.
We also suggest this list, compiled by Daily Dot contributor Dell Cameron. And for an even more in-depth look, try the Reddit livefeed for Ferguson news and scanner reports.
Police demanding over bull horn that people disperse immediately pic.twitter.com/NSOwyc2jaI
— Trymaine Lee (@trymainelee) August 13, 2014
Protestors just noticed sniper on roof https://t.co/z9gb1HleTU
— Brittany Noble KMOV (@BrittanyNoble) August 14, 2014
#Ferguson crowd threw rocks, bottles, Molotov cocktails, saw a gun, right before this stepped off pic.twitter.com/qNngeVLtVL
— David Carson (@PDPJ) August 14, 2014
Spoke to the President earlier about the situation in #Ferguson. Working in #STL today to make progress pic.twitter.com/o9ATKUiwcL
— Governor Jay Nixon (@GovJayNixon) August 14, 2014
#Ferguson Police Chief: “If anybody was arrested, from what I understand, it was because they were in an area being cleared by police.”
— KMOV (@KMOV) August 14, 2014
Sen. McCaskill says she’s been working on “demilitarizing the police response,” draws standing ovation at church. pic.twitter.com/05vHqWdElC
— Matt Pearce (@mattdpearce) August 14, 2014
Side streets are deserted. A police car with flashers on just drove by. Helicopter buzzing overhead. #Ferguson
— Julie Bosman (@juliebosman) August 14, 2014
Found what seems to be an undetonated “mini bang” cracker on W Florissant pic.twitter.com/iWHq6TyK9y
— Jon Swaine (@jonswaine) August 14, 2014
With sundown approaching, police helicopter is flying overhead and police presence is increasing. Crowd is standing firm. #Ferguson
— errin haines whack (@emarvelous) August 14, 2014
Police officers (all white but 1) belittling cries – desperate cries – for help of detained black man was absolutely horrifying to me
— Wesley Lowery (@WesleyLowery) August 14, 2014
Some photos from last night in #Ferguson that I didn’t get to post before I was arrested. pic.twitter.com/vhU8AgjUmF
— Antonio French (@AntonioFrench) August 14, 2014
Two photos from this evening’s encounter with the SWAT team. It…wasn’t pleasant. pic.twitter.com/TCVqtD1Gni
— Jamelle Bouie (@jbouie) August 14, 2014
I was also never informed of my Miranda Rights.
— Ryan J. Reilly (@ryanjreilly) August 14, 2014
Photo by cabralgabriel/Flickr (CC BY 2.0)