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Ferguson Protester Sentenced To Five Years In Prison For Arson

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Casey Harper Contributor
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A Ferguson protester who tried to burn down a store during the Ferguson riots has been sentenced to five years in prison.

Antonio Whiteside, 27, pleaded guilty in April to one count of attempted arson and was sentenced by a federal judge Tuesday, Fox2Now reports. The store, the Ferguson Supermarket, was the same one Michael Brown robbed minutes before his fatal encounter with police officer Darren Wilson.

minor marijuana charge was the only spot on his criminal record before lighting a fire inside the store. The arson came during the Ferguson riots following the grand jury’s August 2014 decision not to indict Wilson, the officer who fatally shot Brown.

Looters damaged dozens of buildings in the Ferguson riots, and the city is still recovering. Baltimore saw similar riots with multiple buildings looted and burned following the death of Freddie Gray while in police custody.

The Ferguson case has changed policing in America. The Black Lives Matter movement has become a voice for black communities upset about police treatment of black people. At the same time, many say the increased scrutiny and legal trouble for police who arrest black people has led police to be less aggressive in fighting crime, leading to a rise in violence.

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