--- title: President Obama Says There Is 'No Excuse' for Ferguson Violence description: Obama condemned the violence in Ferguson, Mo., on Tuesday, after a night of protests in the area turned violent canonical: https://time.com/3606492/obama-ferguson-violence-grand-jury-announcement/ author: Zeke Miller article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2014-11-25T23:40:50.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-05-11T05:06:53.608Z article:section: Politics og:title: President Obama Says There Is 'No Excuse' for Ferguson Violence og:description: Riots, looting and violent protests roiled the area Monday evening og:url: https://time.com/3606492/obama-ferguson-violence-grand-jury-announcement/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt9e2caeb3c5a8181a/69876b27524fc00e4edeafe2/obama-reform-ferguson.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 675 og:image:alt: US President Barack Obama speaks on ferguson and immigration reform at the Copernicus Community Center on Nov. 25, 2014 in Chicago. og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: President Obama Says There Is 'No Excuse' for Ferguson Violence twitter:description: Riots, looting and violent protests roiled the area Monday evening twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt9e2caeb3c5a8181a/69876b27524fc00e4edeafe2/obama-reform-ferguson.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # President Obama Says There Is 'No Excuse' for Ferguson Violence by [Zeke Miller](https://time.com/author/zeke-j-miller/) ## Zeke Miller Nov 25, 2014 11:40 PM UTC  US President Barack Obama speaks on ferguson and immigration reform at the Copernicus Community Center on Nov. 25, 2014 in Chicago. US President Barack Obama speaks on ferguson and immigration reform at the Copernicus Community Center on Nov. 25, 2014 in Chicago.Mandel Ngan—AFP/Getty Images by [Zeke Miller](https://time.com/author/zeke-j-miller/) ## Zeke Miller Nov 25, 2014 11:40 PM UTC President Barack Obama condemned the violence in Ferguson, Mo., on Tuesday, after a night of protests in the area turned violent following the announcement that a grand jury chose not to indict police officer Darren Wilson in Michael Brown’s death. Speaking in Chicago before a scheduled speech on immigration reform, the President acknowledged that many Americans are upset by the decision but appealed for calm. “Burning buildings, torching cars, destroying property, putting people at risk, that’s destructive and there’s no excuse for it,” Obama said. “Those are criminal acts. People should be prosecuted if they commit criminal acts.” He continued, “nothing of significance, nothing of benefit results from destructive acts.” ### Ferguson Ignites With Violence After Grand Jury Decision  Law enforcement stands in full gear by tanks in Ferguson, Mo. on Nov. 24, 2014 Barrett Emke for TIME  Protesters stand amid tear gas and smoke in Ferguson, Mo. on Nov. 24, 2014. Barrett Emke for TIME  Riot policemen clash with protesters in Ferguson Mo. on Nov. 24, 2014. Alexey Furman—EPA  St. Louis County Police tactical team members open their reserve supply of tear gas to be fired as they take cover behind an armored truck on S. Florissant Avenue in Ferguson, Mo. on Nov. 24, 2014. David Carson—St Louis Post Dispatch/Polaris  Law enforcement responds to protestors in Ferguson, Mo. on Nov. 24, 2014 Barrett Emke for TIME  A woman speaks into a megaphone during protests in Ferguson, Mo. on Nov. 24, 2014 Barrett Emke for TIME  A man lies on the ground amid protests in Ferguson, Mo. on Nov. 24, 2014 Barrett Emke for TIME  Police in riot gear tangle with a woman in front of emergency vehicles in Ferguson Mo. on Nov. 24, 2014. Larry W. Smith—EPA  A demonstrator puts his hands in the air amid protests in Ferguson, Mo. on Nov. 24, 2014 Barrett Emke for TIME  A law enforcement officer pushes back protestors after they destroyed a police car in Ferguson, Mo. on Nov. 24, 2014. Michael B. Thomas—AFP/Getty Images  Demonstrators attempt to push over a police car in Ferguson, Mo. on Nov, 24, 2014. Xinhua/Sipa  Cars burn at a car dealership as demonstrators protest the Grand Jury decision not to indict police officer Darren Wilson over the shooting death of Michael Brown in Ferguson, Mo. on No.v 24, 2014. Larry W. Smith—EPA  A car burns on the street after a grand jury returned no indictment in the shooting of Michael Brown in Ferguson, Mo. on Nov. 24, 2014. Jim Young—Reuters  Protestors parade in the parking lot of a burning auto parts store in Ferguson, Mo. on Nov. 24, 2014. Tannen Maury—EPA  A demonstrator walks down the street after getting tear gas in her face and attempting to cleanse her eyes in Ferguson, Mo. on Nov. 24, 2014. Larry W. Smith—EPA  Patrick London surveys the damage at his fast food restaurant London's Wing House after it was looted during protests on Nov. 24, 2014. Barrett Emke for TIME  Michael Brown's mother, Lesley McSpadden, covers her face while standing alongside other demonstrators in Ferguson, Mo. on Nov. 24, 2014 Barrett Emke for TIME  Police stand near a burned out police car in Ferguson, Mo. on Nov. 24, 2014. Christian Gooden—St. Louis Post-Dispatch/Polaris  A man stands by a burned out car in Ferguson, Mo. on Nov. 24, 2014 Barrett Emke for TIME  A Ferguson firefighter surveys rubble at a strip mall that was set on fire when rioting erupted following the grand jury announcement in the Michael Brown case on Nov. 25, 2014 in Ferguson, Mo. Scott Olson—Getty Images  A police officer holds her gun during clashes with protesters in Ferguson, Mo. on Nov. 24, 2014. Jewel Samad—AFP/Getty Images Obama also said he is deploying Attorney General Eric Holder to lead regional discussions to address the roots of the crisis in Ferguson: Distrust between law enforcement officials and the local community. He called on those dissatisfied by the grand jury’s decision not to take the easy route of violence, but rather to come together to improve their communities. “To those that think that what happened in Ferguson is an excuse for violence, I do not have any sympathy for them,” he added. “I have no sympathy at all for destroying your own communities.” Obama was briefed by Holder on Monday evening’s violence in Ferguson, and members of his administration have been working to diffuse tensions. White House Principal Deputy Press Secretary Eric Schultz told reporters aboard Air Force One that the President’s senior advisor Valerie Jarett spoke with Missouri Gov. Jay Nixon on Monday night and Tuesday morning to receive updates from the ground. Broderick Johnson, the White House cabinet secretary, convened a call with the Missouri delegation Monday evening. Also on Monday, White House staffers held a call with mayors across the country, while Jarrett and Holder spoke with civil rights leaders. Schultz added that Obama would consider visiting the city once “things calm down a little bit.” **_Should Ferguson Protestors be Person of the Year? Vote below for #TIMEPOY_** ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/3606492/obama-ferguson-violence-grand-jury-announcement/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/3606492/obama-ferguson-violence-grand-jury-announcement/"},"headline":"President Obama Says There Is 'No Excuse' for Ferguson Violence","datePublished":"2014-11-25T23:40:50.000Z","dateModified":"2026-05-11T05:06:53.608Z","description":"Riots, looting and violent protests roiled the area Monday evening","url":"https://time.com/3606492/obama-ferguson-violence-grand-jury-announcement/","keywords":["White House"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt9e2caeb3c5a8181a/69876b27524fc00e4edeafe2/obama-reform-ferguson.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Zeke Miller","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/zeke-j-miller/"}],"articleSection":"Politics","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt9e2caeb3c5a8181a/69876b27524fc00e4edeafe2/obama-reform-ferguson.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"US President Barack Obama speaks on ferguson and immigration reform at the Copernicus Community Center on Nov. 25, 2014 in Chicago.","caption":"US President Barack Obama speaks on ferguson and immigration reform at the Copernicus Community Center on Nov. 25, 2014 in Chicago.","creditText":"Mandel Ngan—AFP/Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/politics/","name":"Politics"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/white-house/","name":"White House"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/3606492/obama-ferguson-violence-grand-jury-announcement/","name":"President Obama Says There Is 'No Excuse' for Ferguson Violence"}}]}] ```