On Nov. 24, shortly after St. Louis County Prosecutor Robert McCulloch announced that Darren Wilson would not be indicted for killing Michael Brown, Brown’s mother Leslie McSpadden was filmed speaking emotionally to a crowd near Ferguson police headquarters. After McSpadden was finished, Brown’s stepfather, Louis Head, began to shout, yelling “Burn this bitch down!” That night, a number of Ferguson businesses were destroyed by fire; CNN reports today that, according to Ferguson police chief Thomas Jackson, authorities are now investigating whether Head “intended to incite a riot” with his comments.
“No charges have been filed against Louis Head in the incident, but police have interviewed people who know Head and who were with him November 24,” CNN’s story says. “Police have not spoken to Head about his actions, but they intend to do so, Jackson said.”
Benjamin Crump, an attorney representing Brown’s family, said at a press conference on Nov. 25 that Head’s remarks had been triggered by “raw emotion” and were “completely inappropriate.” He more recently described the comments to CNN as “indefensible.”
