Even as the Thanksgiving holiday and the inclement weather appeared to slacken the intensity of protests in Ferguson and elsewhere, the authorities have reportedly thwarted an alleged plot to blow up St louis’ famed Gateway Arch and assassinate the county prosecutor and Ferguson police chief.
Two men with links to the New Black Panther Party have been indicted on weapons charges in a federal court for allegedly making straw purchases of two handguns at a store, the St louis Post-Dispatch reported on Thursday.
The two have been identified as Brandon Orlando Baldwin (also known as Brandon Muhammad, according to documents) and Olajuwon Davis (aka Olajuwon Ali and Brother Ali). Both have pleaded not guilty.
The arrests had actually been made three days before the controversial grand jury decision not to indict white police officer Darren Wilson for the shooting death of black teenager Michael Brown.
Citing sources, the Post-Dispatch reported that the duo had allegedly planned to bomb the Gateway Arch and kill St louis County Prosecutor Robert McCulloch and Ferguson Police Chief Tom Jackson. The investigators, however, were uncertain if the men had the capability to carry out the plans, particularly their idea of planting a bomb inside the observation deck at the top of the Arch.
Jackson told NBC News that he “was warned about a plot” by federal agents but was not given details.
The New Black Panthers rubbished the allegations, terming them “totally unfounded” and “trumped up and baseless”. In a statement, it said the New Black Panthers do “not teach, endorse, or allow its members to commit acts of violence against anyone regardless to the circumstance, unless in imminent danger according to the rules of self-defence”.
Davis has been quoted as having told a New Black Panther rally in a Ferguson church last month: “This is not the first Mike Brown, and it won’t be the last, if we do not unite. Divided, we lose brothers and sisters. If you do not unite, put aside your difference and unite, you can expect no changes in the future. We must change our minds, our systems and ourselves.”
Meanwhile, protesters, regrouping on Friday after Thanksgiving on Thursday, sought to shift their focus from street marches to shopping malls on what is known as Black Friday, one of the busiest days heralding the annual shopping season up to Christmas.
Small groups of demonstrators collected outside Ferguson retail outlets like Walmart and Target, chanting “Hands Up, Don’t Shoot” in protest against the police shooting of the unarmed black teenager.
In New York, seven demonstrators were arrested for trying to disrupt the Macy’s Thanksgiving parade on Thursday.