MEDIA DARLING OF FERUSON PROTESTS BUSTED FOR ARSON AND LOOTING

Joshua Williams, profiled by MSNBC as an advocate of peaceful protest, got caught setting fire to and looting a convenience store in Berkeley, Missouri while protesting the police shooting of Antonio Martin

Joshua Williams, 19, had become the darling of the media among Ferguson protesters. He has been quoted and photographed in numerous media outlets such as The New York Times and USA Today. MSNBC ran an extensive profile on him as an advocate of peaceful protest. MSNBC lauded Williams profusely:

“He hasn’t missed a single day of marching, protesting, or meetings. Like hundreds of other young people in Ferguson, many of whom have born [sic] the weight of a litany of alleged and frequent abuses residents say police have heaped upon the city’s black majority, Williams has found himself thrust into the heart of the city’s protests and civic action sparked by [Michael] Brown’s death.”

Josh was prominently featured in Al Sharpton’s “Justice for All” march in Washington, DC earlier this month where he addressed the crowd:

“The reason we came up here is because we are tired of being shot down in the streets like dogs. Police have a thing called the trigger finger — they can’t control their trigger finger when they see a black person in the street.”

He also told the crowd that he had been arrested five times during the Ferguson protests and each time he was beat up by the cops. He said that upon each release he immediately went back on the streets to let the cops know that “I don’t care about them.”

Well, the advocate of peaceful protest was not so peaceful while protesting Tuesday’s death of Antonio Martin, 18, at the hands of a Berkeley, Missouri cop. Martin was shot after pointing a gun at the cop. Joshua couldn’t refrain from participating in the riots that followed. Early Wednesday, he got caught trying to set fire to and looting a QuickTrip convenience store in Berkeley.

The media darling, has been charged with first degree arson and burglary, both felonies, and with misdemeanor theft for stealing a lighter, chewing gum and money from the store. As of Saturday, peaceful protesting Josh was still locked up in the St. Louis county pokey on $30,000 bail.