The governor of Missouri declared a state of emergency and a midnight curfew in the St. Louis suburb of Ferguson on Saturday afternoon, and while many decided to go home before 12 a.m., a large number of activists stayed in defiance of the order to continue their protests.

The streets were fairly quiet about an hour before curfew time, but soon after midnight loud chants of "hands up, don't shoot!" could be heard by a number of protesters. Most police officers on the scene were standing outside numerous businesses to protect them from potential looters.

#Ferguson: Police protecting shops on West Florissant pic.twitter.com/vcgtjQSnyW — Yanky Chiller (@YankyChiller) August 17, 2014

"I don't think it's a good idea," Maurice Millere told Huffington Post's Ryan Reilly of the curfew. The main chant of the protesters over the past week had been "hands up, don't shoot," but as the Wall Street Journal's Ben Kesling tweeted, those had been outnumbered by chants of "F--k 12."

Several dozen protesters defy the curfew. pic.twitter.com/RVxtrHLg1N — Jim Ryan (@jimryantx) August 17, 2014

Twenty minutes after the curfew began, police were not seen advancing or taking any action to arrest or force the protesters away. The St. Louis County Police Department said it had received "several calls" of men with guns on the streets.

Roughly 200 people remained in the area and chanted in protest of the police, while some activists called for them to go home in an attempt to deescalate the situation.

Officers observed at least one person standing in the road with a handgun, and a police car was also fired upon, according to Capt. Ron Johnson, who spoke at a press conference after the clashes at around 2:30 a.m.

I can tell you firsthand that some of the people that remained tonight were armed. Were ready for a fight. And wanted to injure police. — Antonio French (@AntonioFrench) August 17, 2014

At 12:40 a.m., police officers formed a line of vehicles and announced over the loudspeaker: "This is the police department. You are violating a state-imposed curfew. ... you must disperse peacefully or you will be subject to arrest or other actions."

Police fired tear gas into the crowd about five minutes later, although a police spokesman insisted it was smoke. He later backtracked and confirmed it was indeed used.

Vice News' Tim Pool observed at least one protester throwing a Molotov cocktail at a business. Other protesters quickly stamped out the fire that had been lit.

Around 12:55 a.m., at least three to four gunshots were heard. The Guardian's Jon Swaine later reported one man was shot in the leg (not by police), and was quickly put in a car to be taken away. Capt. Johnson confirmed the man was transported to the hospital and was in critical condition.

Nearly two hours post-curfew, most people had vacated the streets. Police made seven arrests, all on charges of "failure to disperse." They did not arrest the person they observed with a handgun, or the suspect who had wounded a protester.

In the wake of riots that ensued after a police officer shot an unarmed black 18-year-old, Gov. Jay Nixon put the curfew in place and declared a state of emergency.

“We will not allow a handful of looters to endanger the rest of this community,” Gov. Jay Nixon said in a heated press conference broadcast live on MSNBC.

People at the governor's press conference expressed anger, questioning why the police officer who shot Brown has not been arrested and charged with murder. Nixon responded by saying, "If we want justice, we cannot be distracted ... We cannot have looting and crimes at night. We cannot have people fearful."

As reporter Matt Pearce showed in this Instagram video, the press conference was quite tense:

'There is not going to be an armored truck come out'

Ferguson has been in a state of unrest since a local police officer shot unarmed Michael Brown in broad daylight on Aug. 9. The curfew will run from midnight until 5 a.m., Missouri Highway Patrol Captain Ron Johnson said at the press conference. Johnson — an African-American native of Ferguson who was brought in to help quell the riots on Thursday — tried to strike a positive note on Thursday.

"We will survive this, and we will make a change," he said. Johnson implied that the all-night protests were threatening public safety and health, saying at one point, "People are calling 911 and not getting their calls [answered] ... People get sick at one in the morning. People get sick at two in the morning."

Missouri State Highway Patrol Captain Ron Johnson speaks to protesters as he walks through a peaceful demonstration as communities continue to react to the shooting of Michael Brown in Ferguson, Missouri. Lucas Jackson/Reuters

One person in attendance asked Johnson how he was going to enforce the curfew, saying, "Are you going to use tear gas again? Are you bringing back military force?"

Johnson tried to ease those fears, explaining how police would enforce the curfew: "We won't enforce it with trucks, with tear gas. We will communicate ... Because someone is standing in the street, there is not going to be an armored truck come out."

The curfew will apparently not apply to reporters, as the governor specified that the press were free to monitor how police enforce it. Police in Ferguson were widely criticized for their response to the protests, which included bringing out military-style weapons and barking dogs. Following this criticism, on Thursday Nixon relieved the local police of their duties and brought in Johnson and other members of the state highway patrol.

Thursday night got calmer but police and protesters clashed again on Friday after police released a video allegedly showing the slain teenager stealing cigars from a convenience store before a police officer shot him dead on the street. The Justice Department reportedly warned police not to release this video because they thought it would upset the community.



The teenager's family released a statement Friday saying they were "beyond outraged" that the police were trying to assassinate their son's character. Ferguson police have acknowledged that the officer who shot Brown did not even realize he was suspected of the strong-armed convenience-store theft.