On Monday night, CNN's Jake Tapper was in Ferguson, Missouri, reporting on continuing demonstrations and conflict between protesters and the National Guard of Missouri, which has taken over policing the town. Since unarmed teenager Michael Brown was shot on Aug. 9, there has been a standoff between police with military-grade weaponry, civilians who have been mostly peaceful, and a small group of violent protesters who have thrown rocks and Molotov cocktails at police.
The camera pans to reveal peaceful protesters down the road juxtaposed with the National Guard troops in heavy riot gear. Tapper commented on the absurdity of the situation:
"What is going on in Ferguson, Missouri, in downtown America. These are armed police with semi-automatic rifles, with batons, with shields, many of them dressed for combat. Now why they’re doing this, I don’t know. Because there is no threat going on here, none, that merits this. There is none. Absolutely, there have been looters. Absolutely over the last nine days there’s been violence, but there is nothing going on right now that merits this scene out of Bagram. Nothing. So if people wonder why the people of Ferguson, Missouri, are so upset, this is part of the reason. What is this? This doesn’t make any sense."
Watch the full clip below.
h/t @Jose3030
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