[Fezzik]

For those who do not click through to the article: “Police say that there is no evidence the deaths have anything to do with the protests”.

From my time in Portland, working at the courthouse as a court clerk during the Occupy movement, when hundreds of transient “protesters” camped out in the park, it is not surprising that some of those folks would OD or end up dead for reasons entirely not related to protesting but instead related to their unfortunate life circumstances. I do not know if the same is true of Ferguson, but the article does not seem to provide any evidence of calculated retaliation against protesters.

[anigbrowl]

What an amazing coincidence.

[jorblumesea]

Given a large population of any individuals with only loose connections, is it not statistically likely that some will die? Especially given that those prone to protesting in the streets might have encountered trauma, or might have been from high risk populations in the first place.

[zaaakk]

Why would the police say otherwise? Nice critical thinking.

[ALittleLight]

The article just has these people loosely connected or "active" in the protests. One of them attended the protests, one launched a tear gas canister back at the police, one's mother attended the protests, etc. These aren't the main organizers or leaders dying mysteriously, but rather random attendees dying.

Is this more or less than the number of attendees we would expect to die based on Ferguson homicide rates and approximations of the number of attendees? I couldn't find that in the article.

Also, what's the theory that this isn't a coincidence? The police are murdering random protestors for some reason?

[adge]

All of those mentioned in the article were not just attendees but community organizers. Do some drake equation style math on the back of an envelope:

What percentage of young people will die in a given year?

What percentage of those will happen to be community organizers?

What percentage of those will die by being shot in the head in a car that was then set on fire to annihilate forensic evidence?

Doesn't take too many steps out to get into the realm of zero percent probability that this is random chance

[ALittleLight]

Are they organizers? That's not clear to me from the NBC article.

"""

— MarShawn McCarrel of Columbus, Ohio, shot himself in February 2016 outside the front door of the Ohio Statehouse, police said. He had been active in Ferguson.

— Edward Crawford Jr., 27, fatally shot himself in May 2017 after telling acquaintances he had been distraught over personal issues, police said. A photo of Crawford firing a tear gas canister back at police during a Ferguson protest was part of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch’s Pulitzer Prize-winning coverage.

— In October, 24-year-old Danye Jones was found hanging from a tree in the yard of his north St. Louis County home. His mother, Melissa McKinnies, was active in Ferguson and posted on Facebook after her son’s death, “They lynched my baby.” But the death was ruled a suicide.

— Bassem Masri, a 31-year-old Palestinian American who frequently livestreamed video of Ferguson demonstrations, was found unresponsive on a bus in November and couldn’t be revived. Toxicology results released in February showed he died of an overdose of fentanyl.

"""

One was "active", one sent tear gas back at police, one livestreamed parts of the protest, and one's mother was in the protest.

The first two people, who were shot in their cars, I didn't see the extent of their involvement.

How many were involved at this level or higher? Tens of thousands? How many should we expect to die of murder, suicide, and drug overdose, and how many have?

What is the theory explaining this? Do you think there is a group murdering Ferguson protestors after the fact?

[sukilot]

No one has done the math, though.

[jtbayly]

Does anybody have any evidence they are connected? I’m not saying thy are or aren’t, but it’s at least worth noting what the police say.

[tehjoker]

It's not really. Police lie constantly, especially when it would implicate them. Their statements carry zero information except where they provide positive publicly verifiable evidence. Unsettling and sad, but its the truth.

[jtbayly]

So I’ll take that as a “No, there’s no evidence whatsoever that these are connected. It’s entirely baseless speculation and conspiracy theory.”

[tehjoker]

Given the circumstances, I would say you're never going to know the truth about these deaths with the possible exception of documents declassified or admissions of guilt decades after the fact. The question is if you are a political activist, is do you take these deaths seriously even if you can't prove they are foul play? Given the record of the government, I just can't rule it out.