Free Republic

FERGUSON, Missouri — Reporters trying to cover the renewed chaos in this town faced a new threat on Friday: the demonstrators themselves. Print, video and photo-journalists were all repeatedly and aggressively threatened and harassed when attempting to photograph or videotape any of the looting or property destruction. Many of the demonstrators expressed concern about being identified by police or told reporters that the looting was none of their concern. Police largely remained on the sidelines on Friday and into the dawn hours of Saturday morning as demonstrators descended on a number of businesses in Ferguson — pulling alcohol, lottery tickets,...

After speaking to an eyewitness of the Michael Brown shooting on CNN last night, Don Lemon used his regular appearance on the Tom Joyner Morning Show to issue a statement he said he wanted everyone to hear, but “especially white folks.” “It has been almost a week since unarmed teenager Michael Brown was shot dead by a police officer in the St. Louis suburb of Ferguson, and still there no answers,” Lemon began. He tried to make that point that racial attitudes in Ferguson, Missouri and elsewhere in this country helped provide the environment that led to Brown’s death. “We...

To people on the streets of Ferguson, Missouri, and many around the world who watched Wednesday night's violence unfold, it seemed like a scene out of another country. (snip) Some in the military community say the problem is that police are getting the equipment without the same training and rules. "To call this militarization doesn't characterize the military very well," said Josh Weinberg, an Army veteran who focuses on security issues for the Truman Project. "We always were trained in escalation of force." To call this militarization doesn't characterize the military very well. The police apparently "had their weapons up...

U.S. civil rights advocates aired their concerns about the recent Michael Brown shooting to the United Nations in Geneva, according to a press call from the organizations on Wednesday. “This issue was front and center,” Hilary O. Shelton, director of the NAACP Washington Bureau, explained during the call.

People in Gaza are tweeting information on how to handle tear gas to the citizens of Ferguson.

The mayor of Ferguson, Missouri, says many of the people who smashed, looted, burned and destroyed in the aftermath of protests following a fatal police shooting of a teenager were out-of-towners. “Once the vigil dispersed, the people who showed up saw their numbers and got really brave, then people started driving in from other areas to steal stuff,” Mayor James Knowles told WND. “A lot of the people aren’t even from our town; but they came in and stole from our businesses and left our town in ruins, and made it look like there are racial tensions here that simply...

Looters: Venezuelan troops storm a local electronics retailer in the name of enforcing "fair prices," brazenly blaming the private sector for state policies. Sounds familiar — and not just because it's a communist takeover. With municipal elections just around the corner on Dec. 8, it's no surprise to see Venezuela's failing socialist government turning to pork-barrel handouts to lure voters — as it always has. Shovel the goodies to the red-shirted low-information voters and gain just enough votes in upcoming elections to claim a dictatorship is really a democracy. Not coincidentally, President Nicolas Maduro declared that Venezuela would celebrate the...

The Jindal administration announced late Wednesday that it is moving to strip food stamps from recipients who took advantage of a technical glitch last month to stock up on free groceries. The announcement came after U.S. Sen. David Vitter, R-La., pressured state officials to take action by taking away food stamp benefits and forming a task force with local prosecutors to bring criminal charges. Retailers lost money when they allowed food stamp recipients to leave their stores with groceries even though they could not check spending limits. When the transactions were processed later, thousands bounced back because recipients exceeded their...

Kenya mall video of soldiers looting after shooting New security footage has emerged online after the Westgate mall attack in Kenya, the video shown below shows what looks like security soldiers taking goods from the mall and not paying for them. Last month the Kenya mall shooting left 67 dead after suspected al-Shabab militants stormed the Nairobi Westgate shopping centre on 21 September. The video below clearly shows Kenyan soldiers carrying white bags and taking goods from the store without consent, according to reports the Kenyan military are investigating the looting allegations. The mall sells food, mobile phones and televisions,...

Many Police Department is looking to press charges against anyone who left the Many Walmart during the EBT glitch with carts full of food without stopping at the checkout counter. “We had people actually walking out of the store, apparently, without even going through the checkout line,” explained Many Police Detective JoAnn Carter. ”That’s called shoplifting, isn’t it?” The Many Police Department is reviewing the surveillance video with Walmart to identify who will be facing charges of shoplifting. “Walmart actually has a person who sits and that’s what she does with the loss and prevention,” Carter explained to 710 KEEL....

The entitlement class is starting to get a little pushy and the cash cow they are leaching off of is starting to get ticked off. I'm sitting outside the Oakland international airport and a guy walks up asking for money. ( I don't give anything to people who ask, only those who don't) This isn't the first time somebody has asked me for a handout and probably won't be the last. I didn't have anything on me anyway. I replied to the guy that I didn't have any cash on me. Sorry I couldn't help him. He looks at me...

A free for all at a gas station on Detroit's east side has the store manager fed up. He asked not to be identified, fearing retaliation for coming forward, and Fox 2 is not revealing the location of the gas station. "The city ain't the same anymore," he says. "The young, ignorant generation is moving business owners and the good citizens of Detroit out of the city." It happened around 12:30am Sunday and it was all caught on camera. The owner says his clerk told a man to leave the store and that threw the customer into a rage. He...

MIAMI BEACH, Fla. – Trayvon Martin's parents are scheduled to hold a news conference in Miami Beach. Martin's parents, their attorney Benjamin Crump and members of the National Bar Association are set to meet with reporters Monday morning. They are expected to discuss their plans to address what they say are inequalities in the U.S. justice system.

Shoppers at a Wal-Mart on Crenshaw Boulevard described a scene of chaos and mayhem Monday night as unruly protesters stormed the store, tossing merchandise and trying to loot jewelry cases. . . . The women said they saw clothes on the floor and a little girl crying. “She must have been in the middle of it,” Erica Williams said. The two left the store and watched as the crowd continued to gather on Crenshaw Boulevard. When they decided to go shopping, they thought they were a safe distance from any potential problems.

DNC: Nearly $500,000 of equipment was lost or stolen in Charlotte To stage last year’s Democratic National Convention, the local host committee raised millions of dollars, much of it for computers, phones and other communication devices. Now it appears a sizable amount of that equipment was lost, stolen – or perhaps kept by the staffers it had been assigned to. The Democratic National Convention Committee said it recently sent the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department a spreadsheet detailing $496,000 worth of missing equipment. CMPD created an incident report in May. Among the missing items: MacBook Pro laptops, iPads, iPod Nanos, computer printers,...

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When black voters gave President Barack Obama 93 percent support on Election Day in defiance of predictions that they might sit it out this year, black leaders breathed a collective sigh of relief. That encouraged those leaders to try to leverage more attention from both Obama and Congress. Although they waver over how much to demand from the president —particularly in light of defeated GOP challenger Mitt Romney's assertion that Obama gave "gifts" to minorities in exchange for their votes — they are delivering postelection wish lists to the president anyway. "I think the president heard us loud and clear....

Ever since Sandy strafed the Queens peninsula and tore up the boardwalk, it’s become an often lawless place where cops are even scarcer than electrical power and food. Locals say they are arming themselves with guns, baseball bats, booby traps — even a bow and arrow — to defend against looters. Thugs have been masquerading as Long Island Power Authority (LIPA) workers, knocking on doors in the dead of night. But locals say the real workers have been nowhere in sight, causing at least one elected official — who fears a descent into anarchy if help doesn’t arrive soon —...

A wave a looters followed the Sandy storm surge in Coney Island, creating a double-whammy for business owners trying to pick up the obliterated pieces. The thieves started down Mermaid Avenue Tuesday morning as the chest-high water receded, turning the seaside community known for its hotdogs and tourist attractions into a lawless free-for-all. "People were running in and out of Rent-A-Center carrying these big flat screens. They were holding on tight," said witness Aisha John, 20. "I couldn't understand how someone could steal a big TV in broad daylight, but no one cared.” She said people were running out of...

The New York Daily News caught up with an alleged looter on Tuesday, who defended his actions, saying, "Look, they've been looting our wallets for too long,"as he took a TV from a Rent-A-Center in Coney Island. "It's about time we start taking this sh—back," he added. Witnesses of looting near Coney Island told The Wall Street Journal that it was occurring in plain sight, and that police officers did little to stop it. "When I came out at about 8:30 a.m. this morning, there were people coming out of all these stores, guys carrying Hefty bags," Roger McKinon, 40...