Ferguson update: hacktivism, smear campaigns, missed court dates

FERGUSON, Mo., Oct. 28 (UPI) —

In the wake of the Ferguson Report, Anonymous offshoot Operation Ferguson issued a series of tweets claiming to confirm Darren Wilson will not be indicted by a grand jury for shooting Mike Brown.




In a case now as much defined by leaked information as racial tensions, Operation Ferguson claims two sources confirmed the grand jury’s inaction against Wilson and are intentionally delaying the announcement until after the Nov. 4 midterm elections.




LEAKED: Based on 2 reliable confidential sources we now confirm an imminent announcement that the Grand Jury will NOT indict Darren Wilson.â € ” Operation Ferguson (@OpFerguson) October 27, 2014




LEAKED: Our sources indicate that virtually every local police agency as well as the National Guard and all local jails are on high alert.â € ” Operation Ferguson (@OpFerguson) October 27, 2014




We have been receiving very reliable leaks on this for several days. As we have always done, we chose to wait until we were sure. We are.â € ” Operation Ferguson (@OpFerguson) October 27, 2014




Our data indicates it will be shortly after Election Day. Which stands to reason these tyrants are not idiots. | @DonnaDiorio @gatewaypunditâ € ” Operation Ferguson (@OpFerguson) October 27, 2014




The news comes on the heels of the leaked Ferguson Report, which seemingly confirmed Wilson’s account of the incident with Brown — news that’s sent Wilson’s few supporters into a public victory lap of decrying Brown and the protesters in Ferguson.




"Unburdened by jobs or other responsibilities, these people are free to drift from city to city and cause to cause, occupying Wall Street and decrying capitalism in New York City one day, lamenting global warming in Chicago on another day, and now marching against police brutality in St. Louis today," says the historically far-right National Review. Author Jack Dunphy used the Ferguson Report to springboard talking points about racial tensions being exaggerated by those with little connection to the St. Louis suburb.




"These people’s raison d’Ã ªtre is to march and express their outrage; the target of that outrage is whatever is most convenient at the time."




In an editorial for AllHipHop.com, Saint Louis University Law Professor Justin Hansford points out the leak of the Ferguson Report was an irrefutable criminal act, and, in Hansford’s eyes, is not being investigated as part of a conscious smear campaign to paint Mike Brown as deserving of his fate.




"As a law professor I can say that this was illegal and wrong, but the prosecutor’s office has denied involvement and doesn’t even feel the need to investigate who leaked it," notes Hansford.




"Even attorney general Eric Holder expressed his ‘exasperation’ at the ‘selective leaks.’ But it fits a pattern. On August 14, I was there standing on West Florissant when protesters peacefully celebrated the removal of Ferguson Police Chief Tom Jackson from authority over the protest site. He responded to the victory by releasing the video of Mike Brown in the convenience store."




Meanwhile, Wilson remains essentially in hiding, missing four more court appearances since no-showing to testify against an alleged drug dealer he won an accommodation for arresting.




"[Officer Wilson] beat my ass in my front yard while I was handcuffed then gave me six felonies," described the defendant in that case.




Each of the five cases Wilson failed to testify in was dismissed.




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