People protesting police misconduct in Ferguson, Mo., continued to capture headlines Monday, especially with one of the nation's most famous public intellectuals, Cornel West, among those arrested in front of a local police station.
According to a New York Times report, West told the police officers who were keeping demonstrators from entering the police station that he was there to support the youth.
“We’re here because we love the young folks,” West reportedly said.
Even though there were more than a dozen arrests made during protests Sunday and Monday, the demonstrations were fairly calm.
“Though the mood was tense, the arrests were relatively calm as clergy members and others said they wished to meet with Ferguson police officers inside the building, then stepped forward after saying they were prepared to be arrested if they could not,” the Times reported.
West’s arrest was apparently premeditated. According to the Huffington Post, he told an audience at St. Louis University Sunday night that he planned to get arrested, presumably to bring more attention to the cause.
“It’s a beautiful thing to see people on fire for justice, but I didn’t come here to give a speech,” West said on Sunday night. “I came here to go to jail.”
Read more at the New York Times and the Huffington Post.