Missouri Governor Defends Order Not to Break Up Ferguson Riots

cnsnews.com Governor Jay Nixon (D-MO) is facing angry inquiries over his decision not to allow the Missouri National Guard to deploy and quell the Ferguson riots last November. An Associated Press report on January 10 alluded to a meeting where Nixon had rejected a plan to station the National Guard in front of the Ferguson police headquarters the night of the riots. The email also made reference to a request to Gov. Jay Nixon to place the National Guard in front of Ferguson police headquarters on the date of the grand jury announcement. "Apparently the guard will not move to the FPD per the governor," the email said. Earlier this week, the St. Louis Post-Dispatch was granted access to new documents that showed the National Guard troops were not authorized to halt the violence. “Guardsmen were not authorized to shoot to protect property in Ferguson, make arrests, or even stop people from committing most crimes.”