Celebrity Reactions To Ferguson Grand Jury Decision; Protests Across US In Pictures

Hundreds of people took to the streets across the United States on Monday night to participate in protests over a grand jury decision not to indict Officer Darren Wilson in the shooting death of Michael Brown. Brown, an 18-year-old black teenager, was killed by Wilson on Aug. 9, in a controversial turn of events.

Angry protesters demonstrated in New York, Chicago, Seattle, Los Angeles, Oakland and Washington, D.C., over the shooting of the unarmed teen, whose family urged for calm after the grand jury decision. In Seattle, protesters joined by rapper Macklemore, demonstrated outside a federal courthouse and local police reportedly arrested a man.

In California, crowds reportedly gathered near the Los Angeles Convention Center and shut down a freeway in downtown Los Angeles. Nearly 100 protesters reportedly also gathered outside the LAPD headquarters in downtown Los Angeles. Police used non-lethal projectiles to disperse protesters in the area, the Los Angeles Times reported. Police officials also reportedly said that multiple arrests were made in Oakland. Interstate 580 in Oakland was reopened by the California Highway Patrol after demonstrators blocked the freeway for hours, CBS Local reported.

More than 1,000 people gathered in New York’s Times Square, the CNN reported, and hundreds marched from Chelsea to Harlem, while about 300 people protested outside the White House, chanting “Black lives matter.”

In Ferguson, the St. Louis suburb witnessed violent protests as demonstrators set buildings and vehicles ablaze, while police used tear gas and made several arrests to control the unruly crowds.

Meanwhile, several celebrities took to Twitter to express their thoughts about the developments in Ferguson.