Anger flares up in Ferguson again as 2 arrested in St. Louis during protests

Tension has returned to heightened levels ever since a Justice Department report alleging racism within city offices has resulted in widespread resignations.

Anger is again rising in Ferguson, Mo., months after a fatal shooting left an unarmed black teenager dead and resulted in protests across the country.

Two people were arrested this weekend as nightly protests continued over the police killing of Michael Brown, with 50 mostly young demonstrators gathering after sunset at St. Louis’ historic Old Courthouse to march through streets filled with people celebrating St. Patrick’s Day — but this group was in a much less festive mood, according to an NDTV report.

A protester shouted from the steps of the courthouse — the same place where black slave Dred Scott in 1846 had famously filed a historic lawsuit for his freedom, albeit an unsuccessful one — saying that “justice is dead” and people need to “wake it up,” according to the report.

The protesters attempted to hold up traffic in the area but police intervened and arrested two men, one a protester and the other a freelance photojournalist from the website Mashable. The site’s executive editor said via Twitter that he was released shortly after.

The shooting of Brown on August 9 last year prompted national outrage and a fierce debate over the treatment of black youths by predominantly white officers.

Things got heated again this week as the fallout from a Justice Department report alleging widespread racism in Ferguson city offices prompted resignations, including its police chief, Thomas Jackson. On Wednesday, shots rang out during a peaceful rally causing an two police officers to be wounded, resulting in an unsuccessful manhunt.

Mayor James Knowles is one person who hasn’t stepped down despite calls for him to do so. He met with 20 local entrepreneurs who didn’t like having the protesters around and wanted them to leave. Knowles told reporters afterward that he “stand[s] behind all of them,” according to the report.

One of the entrepreneurs, an African-American who said he has seen a downturn because of the protests, said he wants those who are in the city for “the wrong reasons to stay out of our city,” according to the report.