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Rally supporting cop who shot Michael Brown draws sparse crowd of 125 in St. Louis

Tom Boggioni
August 17, 2014

According to Guardian correspondent Jon  Swaine, who has been covering the fallout from the shooting of Michael Brown in Ferguson, MO., a rally was held today in St. Louis in support of police officer Darren Wilson.

Wilson, who is accused of shooting the 18-year-old Brown last week, is currently on paid administrative leave and has gone into hiding while the shooting is being investigated by both local authorities and the FBI.

In a series of tweets posted to his Twitter account, Swaine stated that approximately 125 people attended the rally with a racial breakdown that he put at 124 white people, and 1 African-American man, identified as Martin Baker.

The 44-year-old Baker is a local businessman and two-time candidate for the GOP nomination to represent Missouri's 1st Congressional District, who failed to secure the nomination in 2102 and 2014.

The seat is currently held by Rep. William Lacy Clay, Jr. (D).

According to Swaine, an entrepreneur sold t-shirts for $7 at the rally, emblazoned with a police badge reading, "Officer Darren Wilson - I stand by you," which Swaine claims sold out.

The location for the brief 5pm rally was in front of the offices of NBC affiliate KSDK News which has come under fire from conservatives for broadcasting in front of  the home of Wilson.

In stark contrast to the highly militarized police presence at rallies and protests for Michael Brown in Ferguson, the Wilson rally drew only 11 police officers, with five of them on bicycles.

Additional images below from Jon Swaine Twitter feed:

[All images Jon Swaine]

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