U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder is weighing in on the latest controversial news from Ferguson, Mo.
A 37-square-mile no-fly zone was declared over Ferguson for 12 days during the unrest following the killing of unarmed African-American teen Michael Brown, something police said was to protect police helicopters.
Audio recordings published by the Associated Press on Sunday, however, reveal the true motive: to keep media away.
“They finally admitted it really was to keep the media out,” one Federal Aviation Administration manager is heard saying on the recording obtained through a Freedom of Information Act request. “But they were a little concerned of, obviously, anything else that could be going on.”
Holder expressed his displeasure at this new information Monday at a news conference.
“Transparency I think is always a good thing,” he said, according to MSNBC. “The American people need to understand … what was happening or what is happening in Ferguson. Anything that would artificially inhibit the ability of news gatherers to do what they do, I think, is something that needs to be avoided.”
The Justice Department announced in September it would investigate the Ferguson shooting.
”I haven’t prejudged anything. I’m aware of the investigation that we have ongoing,” Holder said. “We’ll reveal, you know, in a more fulsome way what changes we think need to be made at the conclusion of the investigation.”
Darren Wilson, the police officer who shot and killed Brown, is considered unlikely to face federal civil rights charges, according to a story recently published by the Washington Post.
