WASHINGTON (AP) — Attorney General Eric Holder is promising a thorough investigation into the fatal police shooting of Michael Brown while calling for “an end to the acts of violence in the streets” of Ferguson, Missouri.

Holder says the Justice Department “will defend the right of protesters to peacefully demonstrate and for the media to cover a story that must be told.” He is calling on the citizens of Ferguson “to join with law enforcement in condemning the actions of looters, vandals and others seeking to inflame tensions.”