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Armed Citizens Patrol Ferguson, Media Gets Nervous

Given the Ferguson woeful unwillingness to protect private property last year, I don’t blame citizens for doing the job the local police have been unwilling to do, from NBC News [1]:

Heavily-armed members of a controversial right-wing “patriot” group added an extra dose of unease to protests in Ferguson, Missouri, early Tuesday.

The Oath Keepers organization says its members — all former military, police and first responders — pledge to “defend the Constitution against all enemies, foreign and domestic.”

However, St. Louis County Police Chief Jon Belmar described their presence as “both unnecessary and inflammatory.”

Protesters and police confirmed that a handful of Oath Keepers with what appeared to be assault rifles, bulletproof vest and camouflage gear were seen early Tuesday on the streets of Ferguson, which was under a state of emergency following demonstrations pegged to the anniversary of Michael Brown’s death.

Point of order, what NBC News calls “assault rifles” were likely just ugly varmint rifles. Assault rifles are machine guns, illegal for citizen to own.

If you owned a business in Ferguson, who would rather see outside your door, an imported rent a thug protesting the death a local thug, to wit the late Micheal Brown; the Ferguson Police, willing to turn a blind eye to mob violence, or an Oath Keeper?