Unlawful Assembly Arrests in Ferguson

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Three people were charged with unlawful assembly overnight in protests in Ferguson, Mo., law enforcement authorities said early Saturday, as the St. Louis region awaits a grand jury’s decision on whether to indict a white police officer who shot an unarmed black teenager.

Since the August shooting, protests have gone on nearly nightly in Ferguson, and the authorities said that Friday night’s group of demonstrators swelled to about 160 people.

At various points, protesters blocked traffic outside the Ferguson Police Department and were told to clear the street. One group moved to an area along West Florissant Avenue, not far from where the shooting took place, and blocked traffic there. During that demonstration, a driver lost control and crashed a vehicle into a light pole, Brian Schellman, a spokesman for the St. Louis County police, said. Later, the group went back to the street near police department, where three people were arrested for refusing to move out of the street.

The three arrested, the authorities said, were: Kenny Thomas, 55, of St. Louis; David Rodriguez, 26, of Oak Lawn, Ill., and William Morales, 23, of Granite City, Ill.