A crowdfunding campaign advertising itself as the Ferguson Legal Defense Fund has been running a campaign since October that boasts a goal of raising $250,000 for protesters in Ferguson, Missouri, seeking “money for jail, bail & life.” Protesters have been voicing outrage over the shooting death of Michael Brown, ratcheting up demonstrations in the days surrounding a grand jury decision over whether to indict the officer who shot Brown.
Protests that occurred Monday night as the grand jury's decision was released moved from peaceful to chaotic in a short timeframe. A police cruiser was vandalized and set on fire, as seen in a video captured by Breitbart News:
Several businesses were looted and set ablaze that night, as well. Tear gas was deployed several times during the night. Sixty-one people were arrested that Monday night alone, reported Reuters.
On October 19, the Ferguson Defense Fund campaign was set up on crowdfunding website IndieGOGO, the fund’s page indicates. Since then, over $95,000 has been donated from the pockets of over 3,300 funders, site metrics show.
Approximately $10,000 of that was donated just over the Thanksgiving holiday. A description of the cause funds are intended to support reads, in part:
There are protestors in Ferguson who will stay there protesting until an indictment is handed down. And indictment is hardly justice, but it is the fairest procedure. These are young men and women who have put their lives on hold to stand up for all of our freedoms. The overly militarized police force in Ferguson has attempted to criminalize them by harassing and throwing them in jail for exercising their right to peaceful protest. They need our help. They need money for legal funds and they need money to live. The Ferguson Legal Defense Fund will help. We have partnered with Tef Poe and Tory Russell from Ferguson October to make sure the funds received go exactly where they are needed.
Both of the protest organizers list their locations as Brooklyn, New York, despite the location of the campaign being listed as Ferguson, Missouri. The end date for the campaign is listed as December 18.
Breitbart News caught some of the looting that occurred in Ferguson the night the grand jury decision was announced.
Full Text is another video of looting.
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