Mike Brown verdict - After declaring a state of emergency, activating the National Guard and reducing the role of the Ferguson Police department, Missouri Gov. Jay Nixon says he expects "widespread civil disobedience" following the announcement of the Mike Brown verdict.
The St. Louis grand jury is yet to shed details or any clues about the Mike Brown verdict. It is therefore unclear if Darren Wilson, the white police man who shot and killed Mike Brown, an unarmed black teenager in August, would be indicted.
Nonetheless, an FBI communiqué says the Mike Brown verdict is likely to lead to protests and violence, possibly against law enforcement officials.
Ferguson has been the stage of violent protests and subsequent arrests since the shooting of Mike Brown. Many residents, especially African Americans, are calling for Wilson to be charged.
Amid the tension of the Mike Brown verdict, gun sales in Ferguson have hit record numbers. The Washington Post estimates that the sale in firearms has since spiked by about 700 percent.
The leaders of the Ku Klux Klan have also added their wood to the fire. The top hierarchy of the racist organization says lethal force would be used against residents who protest against the Mike Brown verdict.
On Tuesday, Gov. Nixon swore in 16 members of the Ferguson Commission at the Missouri History Museum. The commission's function is to research and present a report detailing the issues that residents have raised during recent protests. The commission, which will be chaired by a black Minster and white businessman - Rev. Starsky Wilson and Rich McClure -, is expected to complete the report no later than Sep. 15th, 2015.
Reports indicate that the membership of the commission consists of five black men and women, as well as five white men and two women, who were selected from a list of about 300 applicants.
"These 16 men and women bring to the table a rich diversity of life experience and points of view," Gov. Nixon said. "They are tough, they are smart and they are empowered."
"Clearly we live in a society where there are existing inequalities. This presents us with the opportunity to address (them) maturely but aggressively," he told reporters.
There has been much speculation about the Mike Brown verdict. The St. Louis grand jury have been meeting and deliberating for the past three months now. They have also been hearing evidence from county investigators. Experts say there are equal chances that the jury may or may not indict Officer Darren Wilson on charges of murder and manslaughter in the Mike Brown verdict.
