Earlier today, Paul Waldman wondered in The Washington Post why libertarian- leaning Republicans like Michigan Rep. Justin Amash didn't have anything to say about the situation unfolding in Ferguson, Missouri following the police shooting of Michael Brown. Tonight, Amash posted this reaction on his Twitter feed:
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The situation in Ferguson is clearly not getting any less tense. Tonight, Washington Post reporter Wesley Lowery was detained in Ferguson while police were clearing out an area McDonald's. The run-up to the incident was captured on video, and that appears to have been part of the issue. In the video, which the Post has put online this evening, Lowery is asked by an officer to stop recording, and Lowery responds that he has a right to record the officer.
Watch here:
Reporter Ryan Reilly of The Huffington Post was also arrested at the same McDonald's. Both reporters were reportedly released without any charges being filed after news of their arrests hit social media and the Ferguson police chief ordered the two to be set free.
Washington Post editor Marty Baron released a statement on the incident tonight:
"There was absolutely no justification for his arrest. He was illegally instructed to stop taking video of officers. Then he followed officers' instructions to leave a McDonald's — and after contradictory instructions on how to exit, he was slammed against a soda machine and then handcuffed. That behavior was wholly unwarranted and an assault on the freedom of the press to cover the news."