UPDATED: 9:55 p.m. ET
Under stormy skies, protesters returned to the streets of Ferguson Saturday evening, facing a midnight curfew that Gov. Jay Nixon imposed earlier in the day.
Storms Drench City; Mood Remains Peaceful
About 500 protesters gathered around the burned-out QuikTrip store, the focal point of much of the unrest in the St. Louis suburb of Ferguson.
Initial reports suggested that the crowd was peaceful. Many chanted "Hands Up, Don't Shoot; Fists Up, Don't Shoot."
Rain is helping to clear out people. Most activity happening around the QT now. #Ferguson pic.twitter.com/aCSJyjFD7P— Antonio French (@AntonioFrench) August 17, 2014
According to the St. Louis Post-Dispatch a few city police officers were dressed in riot gear, but most were in short-sleeve blue shirts. The police presence seemed to be heavier than the night before.
Last evening there was virtually no police presence along W. Florissant, tonight they line the street in small crews. pic.twitter.com/l2kAeLiui1— Trymaine Lee (@trymainelee) August 17, 2014
Walmart in #Ferguson preparing for possible looting Saturday night pic.twitter.com/1GYpCNKqZ9— Alex Wroblewski (@alexwroblewski) August 17, 2014
Twitter Co-Founder Documents Ferguson Events
Jack Dorsey, a native of St. Louis and the co-creator of Twitter, has spent much of the day posting updates from Ferguson on his Twitter and Vine accounts. Friday night, he tweeted: "Feels good to be home. I'll be standing with everyone in Ferguson all weekend," and added the hashtag: #HandsUpDontShoot.
No Jay Nixon, but a thunderstorm approaching. https://t.co/U0BYQN7gqr— Jack (@jack) August 17, 2014
Governor Sets Curfew After New Looting on Friday
Following numerous nights of unrest in Ferguson that have included everything from peaceful protests, clashes with police, as well as looting and citizen groups protecting local businesses, a state of emergency has been declared in Ferguson and a curfew set for Saturday evening.
Governor Nixon announced the curfew at a press conference on Saturday afternoon.
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"If we're going to have justice we must first have and maintain peace," Governor Nixon said at the press conference. "We cannot allow the ill will of the few to overwhelm the good will of the many."
Capt. Ronald S. Johnson, who became something of a heroic figure following the removal of local police in favor of the state's highway patrol, said the curfew would be in effect from midnight until 5 a.m. local time, but did not say if it would span multiple nights.
Leaders from the community will be out to clear the streets by midnight. Anyone here after that WILL NOT have the support of the community.— Antonio French (@AntonioFrench) August 16, 2014
“We won’t enforce it with trucks, we won’t enforce it with tear gas, we will enforce it with communication,” Johnson said, according to The New York Times.
Nixon also acknowledged the efforts of citizens to prevent some of the looting that had occurred, adding that the curfew would be an effort to separate them from those who might break the law.
Nixon: Goal of curfew is to separate peaceful protesters from looters. #Ferguson #MichaelBrown— stevegiegerich (@stevegiegerich) August 16, 2014
Tensions in Ferguson were somewhat elevated on Friday when authorities released surveillance video of a robbery allegedly connected to Mike Brown, the man fatally shot by the police, which sparked the protests in Ferguson.
The timing of the release of the allegations caused widespread backlash against the Ferguson police department and ruined much of the goodwill that had been built on Thursday night.
Similarly, the announcement of a curfew wasn't met with a positive response from people on the ground in Ferguson. On Twitter, those concerns were expressed by locals as well as those who have watched events unfold on television over the past few days.
I have a bad feeling about this curfew in #Ferguson #DONTSHOOT— Liz Peinado (@LizPeinadoSTL) August 16, 2014
A curfew is begging for a confrontation. A community hurt, bruised and battered & you tell them it's bed time? The fuck? #Ferguson— Elon James White (@elonjames) August 16, 2014
Others pointed out that the curfew would mean that any people attempting to mount peaceful evening protests would be breaking the law.
.@GovJayNixon decides to issue a curfew so the cops have freedom to continue the terrorizing of the peaceful protesters in #Ferguson— Jordan Belfort (@hollywood_trey) August 16, 2014