FAYETTEVILLE (KFSM) - Four demonstrators were arrested in downtown Fayetteville on Tuesday (Nov. 25) while protesting the grand jury's decision to not indict Ferguson Police Officer Darren Wilson in the shooting death of 18-year-old Michael Brown, police said.
More than 30 people held a civil disobedience protest Tuesday afternoon outside the Washington County Courthouse. They waved signs and chanted slogans.
Police arrested Jane Stitt, Michael Robbins, Jared Carter and David Garcia during the demonstration. They were arrested after they sat in the road at the intersection of College Avenue and Dickson Street, where they blocked traffic and refused police demands to move.
"Symbols can be powerful," Robbins said. "So it's important to make a statement that this is not okay."
"When there is an injustice even if it relates to you or not directly, you have to stand up," Carter said.
Protest organizers said they had discussed their plans with the Fayetteville Police Department prior to holding the demonstration. The department worked with the demonstrators to ensure the protest was safe for everyone involved.
"They have been very forthcoming about their expectations and what they expect to do," said Sgt. Craig Stout with the Fayetteville Police Department. "We told them what we would have to do in response."
Stout said the protest was peaceful with no destruction or chaos.
"Ultimately for them it is about the ability to protest what they feel is an injustice that happened in Missouri," he said.
Police said the four protesters who were arrested on Tuesday face charges of disorderly conduct. All of them had their bond set at $265. Stitt, Carter and Robbins have bonded out, according to the Washington County Detention Center website.
