St. Louis County Prosecuting Attorney Robert McCulloch said Tuesday night that the grand jury convened for the Michael Brown case is still hearing evidence, which he expected to continue until mid-to-late November.

McCulloch said he understood the concerns expressed by protesters calling for justice, but added, “I can’t allow the demonstrators to influence the pace of the grand jury proceedings.”

McCulloch ran unopposed in Tuesday’s election and easily won another term, though nearly 11,000 write-in ballots were cast against him.

The county prosecutor has been heavily criticized for not recusing himself from the grand jury investigation.

St. Louis County Councilman Steve Stenger, who narrowly won the county executive race against Republican Rick Stream, was an early vocal supporter of McCulloch, prompting a group of African-American Democrats to instead support Stream in the contest.

During Stenger’s victory speech Tuesday night, a group of protesters were escorted out of the ballroom by police after interrupting him.

A small group remained outside of the hotel where Stenger held his party.

After 12:30 a.m. there was a heavy police presence outside the hotel, with several protesters detained by police.

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