'Burn this bitch down!': Michael Brown's stepfather shown in footage encouraging Ferguson riots

Updated
Michael Brown's Mother Reacts to Grand Jury Verdict
Michael Brown's Mother Reacts to Grand Jury Verdict


By RYAN GORMAN

New footage has emerged from Ferguson appearing to show Michael Brown's stepfather encouraging protestors to riot.

Louis Head is shown on the video wearing a green "I am Mike Brown" shirt while shouting to an angry mob shortly after the Ferguson grand jury chose against indicting police officer Darren Wilson for killing the unarmed teen.

"Burn this [censored] down! Burn this bitch down!" Head shouts to the increasingly unruly mob.

The raw anger shown by Head directly contradicts pleas from Michael Brown Sr. and Lesley McSpadden, the dead teen's mother, for crowds to remain peaceful.

Head joined McSpadden on the hood of a car after she spoke to the Ferguson crowd.

He embraced the still-grieving, emotionally devastated woman before his furious outburst.

The video was first shown by CNN, but has since been obtained by the New York Times.

Attorney Benjamin Crump, representing the Browns, said during a Tuesday news conference that the "raw" emotion displayed by both Head and McSpadden was more emblematic of their "desperation and frustration" than their true feelings.

"Don't condemn them for being human," Crump insisted, adding that the 18-year-old's shattered family "understands we all have a responsibility to protect the community."

Michael Brown Sr. chose not to speak at the Tuesday media briefing, which was also attended by Rev. Al Sharpton to avoid misspeaking because of "emotions that are going through him that will later be used against him."

Angry mobs ran amok through parts of the St. Louis suburb setting fire to cars and business, looting stores and smashing windows while firing gun shots at police.

The Browns, Wilson and several officials including President Barack Obama have condemned the violence.



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