--- description: Eric Holder's visit and a night of bad weather produce a smaller, more subdued crowd title: Ferguson Protests Stay Peaceful for the First Night Since Shooting image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt970cce3517432010/6986a0523617609b5c90d8b4/ferguson7.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [U.S.](/section/us/) ## U.S. Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # Ferguson Protests Stay Peaceful for the First Night in Nearly a Week ## Video: Dick Gregory on Race and Ferguson [Watch (HLS stream): Dick Gregory on Race and Ferguson](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/S6qcoMx5.m3u8) (3:27)  _Published 2014-08-20. St. Louis native and Civil Rights activist describes the pain coming from the Ferguson community_  by [Alex Altman/Ferguson, Mo.](/author/alex-altman/)  ## Alex Altman/Ferguson, Mo. Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Altman is the executive features editor and deputy Washington bureau chief at TIME. Aug 21, 2014 11:37 AM CUT  Demonstrators protest the killing of teenager Michael Brown on Aug. 20, 2014 in Ferguson, Mo. Demonstrators protest the killing of teenager Michael Brown on Aug. 20, 2014 in Ferguson, Mo.Scott Olson—Getty Images  by [Alex Altman/Ferguson, Mo.](/author/alex-altman/)  ## Alex Altman/Ferguson, Mo. Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Altman is the executive features editor and deputy Washington bureau chief at TIME. Aug 21, 2014 11:37 AM CUT Justice is a long way off. But on Wednesday night in Ferguson, Mo., there was finally a stretch of peace. For the first evening in nearly a week, protests here went off unmarred by any major skirmishes between police and protesters. On a rainy night, a smaller-than-usual group of protesters still paced the wet streets, doing laps along West Florissant Avenue as their voices grew hoarse from chanting slogans. Small groups huddled along the battered boulevard, mostly unbothered by a police presence reduced from previous nights. It was a rare respite. For nearly a fortnight, days in Ferguson have been boisterous but peaceful. But when the sun goes down, the dynamic has changed as a cadre of confrontational youth stir up trouble under the cover of night. Wednesday was different. U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder touched down in Ferguson Wednesday morning, meeting with community leaders, local residents, students and patrons at a local diner. The trip was a bid to turn down the thermostat on an overheated city that has been aflame since Aug. 9, when Michael Brown, an unarmed 18-year-old black man, was shot to death by a white police officer. The visit from Holder, who is not just the nation’s top cop but also a black man who has spoken frankly about race, seemed to calm a mostly black community that has complained vehemently about its treatment at the hands of a nearly all-white police force. Holder also arrived on the day that a grand jury began to hear evidence in Brown’s shooting death. The attorney general’s trip was a token of solidarity, as Holder offered assurances that the federal government—which is conducting its own civil rights probe into the case—will conduct a thorough investigation. The beleaguered city also got help from the weather. Wednesday was sweltering, with a soggy humidity that kept daytime street protests to a minimum; at mid-afternoon, West Florissant almost seemed back to normal. As darkness descended, lightning forked through the sky and thunder rumbled, announcing a rainstorm that kept troublemakers off the streets. However, there were still some skirmishes. At one point, two white people—a woman and a man—arrived brandishing signs advertising support for Darren Wilson, the 28-year-old six-year veteran of the Ferguson Police Department who shot Brown on Aug. 9\. They slid into the crowd, sparking a brief outrage. Water bottles went flying. But the police did not overreact, instead spiriting the agitators away from the crowd and off the scene. Throughout the evening, angry protesters vented at police, screaming about their treatment, including a rule that prohibits people from gathering in place, forcing the crowd to stay mobile by looping up and down the street. And so they did. “We’re young! We’re strong! We’re marching all night long!” they chanted. Peace hasn’t come yet to this troubled St. Louis suburb; it remains a tinderbox susceptible to a spark. But for the first time in a long time on Wednesday, that spark never came. ### Witness Tension Between Police and Protestors in Ferguson, Mo.  A man backs away as law enforcement officials close in on him and eventually detain him during protests over the death of Michael Brown, an unarmed black teenager killed by a police officer, in Ferguson, Mo., Aug. 11, 2014. Whitney Curtis—The New York Times/Redux  Riot police force protestors from the business district into nearby neighborhoods in Ferguson, Mo. on Aug. 11, 2014. Scott Olson—Getty Images  A child uses a rag to shield his face from tear gas fired by riot police, who used it to force protestors from the business district into nearby neighborhoods in Ferguson, Mo. on Aug. 11, 2014. Scott Olson—Getty Images  Police officers keep watch from an armored vehicle as they patrol a street in Ferguson, Mo., on Aug. 11, 2014 Mario Anzuoni—Reuters  Police officers ride an armored vehicle as they patrol a street in Ferguson, Mo. on Aug. 11, 2014. Mario Anzuoni—Reuters  A demonstrator raises his hands in front of of a police officer in Ferguson, Mo. on Aug. 11, 2014. Mario Anzuoni—Reuters  Riot police lock down a neighborhood in Ferguson, Mo. on Aug. 11, 2014. Scott Olson—Getty Images  People raise their hands in the middle of the street as riot police move toward their position trying to get them to disperse, in Ferguson, Mo. on Aug. 11, 2014. Jeff Roberson—AP  Demonstrators raise their hands and chant "hands up, don't shoot" during a protest over the killing of Michael Brown on in Clayton, Mo. on August 12, 2014. Scott Olson—Getty Images  Civil rights leader Rev. Al Sharpton speaks about the killing of teenager Michael Brown at a press conference held on the steps of the old courthouse in St. Louis on Aug. 12, 2014. Scott Olson—Getty Images  Police take up position to control demonstrators who were protesting the killing of teenager Michael Brown in Ferguson, Mo. on Aug. 12, 2014. Scott Olson—Getty Images  Demonstrators protest the killing of teenager Michael Brown in Ferguson, Mo. on August 12, 2014. Scott Olson—Getty Images  Demonstrators protest the killing of teenager Michael Brown outside Greater St. Marks Family Church in St. Louis on Aug. 12, 2014. Scott Olson—Getty Images  Police stand watch as demonstrators protest the shooting death of teenager Michael Brown in Ferguson, Mo. on Aug. 13, 2014. Scott Olson—Getty Images  A demonstrator throws back a tear gas container after tactical officers worked to break up a group of bystanders on Chambers Road near West Florissant in Ferguson on Aug. 13, 2014. Robert Cohen—St. Louis Post-Dispatch/MCT/Zuma Press  Police officers work their way north on West Florissant Avenue clearing the road of people in Ferguson, Mo. on Aug. 13, 2014. Robert Cohen—St. Louis Post-Dispatch/AP  Demonstrators protest the shooting death of teenager Michael Brown in Ferguson, Mo. on Aug. 13, 2014. Scott Olson—Getty Images  People run through smoke in Ferguson, Mo. on Aug. 13, 2014. Jeff Roberson—AP  A protester takes shelter from smoke billowing around him in Ferguson, Mo. on Aug. 13, 2014. David Carson—St. Louis Post-Dispatch/AP  An explosive device deployed by police flies in the air as police and protesters clash in Ferguson, Mo., on Aug. 13, 2014 Jeff Roberson—AP  Thousands of demonstrators peacefully march to the spot where Michael Brown was shot and killed by police in Ferguson, Mo. on Aug. 14, 2014. Jeff Roberson—AP  Demetrus Washington joins other demonstrators protesting the shooting death of teenager Michael Brown in Ferguson, Mo. on Aug. 14, 2014. Scott Olson—Getty Images  Demonstrators protest outside of Greater St. Marks Family Church in Ferguson, Mo. on Aug. 14, 2014. Lucas Jackson—Reuters  Protesters light candles as they take part in a peaceful demonstration in Ferguson, Mo. on Aug. 14, 2014. Lucas Jackson—Reuters  Missouri State Highway Patrol Captain Ron Johnson (L) speaks to protesters as he walks through a peaceful demonstration as communities continue to react to the shooting of Michael Brown in Ferguson, Mo. on Aug. 14, 2014. Lucas Jackson—Reuters  A young child looks out from a car as demonstrators drive down West Florissant Avenue protesting the shooting and death of Michael Brown in Ferguson, Mo. on Aug. 15, 2014. Scott Olson—Getty Images  A demonstrator walks through smoke launched by police after a skirmish in Ferguson, Mo. on Aug. 15, 2014 Scott Olson—Getty Images  A demonstrator protests on Florissant Ave in Ferguson, Mo. on Aug. 16, 2014. Jon Lowenstein—NOOR for TIME  Children walk past police officers during a demonstration in Ferguson, Mo. on Aug. 16, 2014. Jon Lowenstein—Noor for TIME  Protestors help a man who was injured by tear gas thrown by police after refusing to disperse after the midnight curfew in Ferguson, Mo. on Aug. 17, 2014. Jon Lowenstein—Noor for TIME  Protestors throw canisters in Ferguson, Mo. on August 18, 2014. Jon Lowenstein—Noor for TIME  Protestors demonstrate against the killing of Michael Brown by police officer Darren Wilson in Ferguson, Mo. on August 17, 2014. Jon Lowenstein—NOOR for TIME  A protestor during demonstrations in Ferguson, Mo. on August 17, 2014. Jon Lowenstein—Noor for TIME  A protestor retaliates against police in Ferguson, Mo. on Aug. 17, 2014. Jon Lowenstein—Noor for TIME  A protestor throws a canister of tear gas back at police during demonstrations in Ferguson, Mo. on Aug. 17, 2014. Jon Lowenstein—Noor for TIME  Police wait to advance after tear gas was used to dispersed a crowd in Ferguson, Mo. on Aug. 17, 2014. Charlie Riedel—AP  A protestor holds a sign that reads "stop killing us" amid clouds of tear gas in Ferguson, Mo. on Aug. 17, 2014. Jon Lowenstein—Noor for TIME  Police wait to advance after tear gas was used to disperse a crowd in Ferguson, Mo. on Aug. 17, 2014. Charlie Riedel—AP  Tear gas rains down on a woman kneeling in the street with her hands in the air during a demonstration in Ferguson on Aug. 17, 2014\. The "hands up, don't shoot" pose became the defining gesture of the protests. Scott Olson—Getty Images  Protesters attempt to treat a woman who was in a cloud of tear gas thrown by police in Ferguson, Mo. on Aug. 17, 2014. Lucas Jackson—Reuters  Demonstrators march down West Florissant Ave. during a peaceful march in reaction to the shooting of Michael Brown near Ferguson, Mo. on Aug. 18, 2014. Lucas Jackson—Reuters  Demonstrators march down West Florissant during a peaceful march in reaction to the shooting of Michael Brown, near Ferguson, Mo. on Aug. 18, 2014. Lucas Jackson—Reuters  Police tackle a man who was walking down the street in front of McDonald's in Ferguson, Mo. on Aug. 18, 2014. Laurie Skrivan—St. Louis Post-Dispatch/AP  Law enforcement officers watch on during a protest on West Florissant Avenue in Ferguson, Mo. on Aug. 18, 2014. Michael B. Thomas—AFP/Getty Images  Demonstrators cover their faces as tear gas fills the air as police fire the gas against an unruly crowd protesting the shooting death of Michael Brown in Ferguson, Mo. on Aug.18, 2014 Joe Raedle—Getty Images  A protestor wearing a gas mask stands with his hands up while facing armed police in Ferguson, Mo. on Aug. 18, 2014. Abe Van Dyke—Demotix/Corbis  Police fire tear gas in the direction of where bottles were thrown from crowds gathered near the QuikTrip on W. Florissant Avenue in Ferguson, Mo. on Aug. 18, 2014. David Carson—St Louis Post-Dispatch/Polaris  Demonstrators stand in the middle of West Florissant as they react to tear gas fired by police during ongoing protests in reaction to the shooting of teenager Michael Brown, near Ferguson, Missouri, August 18, 2014. Lucas Jackson—Reuters  Demonstrators protest against the fatal shooting of Michael Brown in Ferguson, Mo. Aug. 19, 2014. Joshua Lott—Reuters  A police officer in riot gear detains a demonstrator protesting against the shooting of Michael Brown, in Ferguson, Mo. on Aug. 19, 2014. Joshua Lott—Reuters  Police officers in riot gear watch demonstrators protesting against the shooting of Michael Brown from the side of a building in Ferguson, Mo. on Aug. 19, 2014. Joshua Lott—Reuters  Two protesters sit with their faces covered during a peaceful protest in Ferguson, Mo. early on Aug. 20, 2014. Michael B. Thomas—AFP/Getty Images  A man is doused with milk and sprayed with mist after being hit by an eye irritant from security forces trying to disperse demonstrators in Ferguson, Mo. early on Aug. 20, 2014. Adrees Latif—Reuters  In this photo taken with a long exposure, protesters march in the street as lightning flashes in the distance in Ferguson, Mo., Aug. 20, 2014. 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