Joshua Williams … Ferguson, MO’s “Peaceful” Protester Charged with Setting Fire at Berkeley Quik Trip During Riot

IT ALL DEPENDS ON HOW ONE DEFINES PEACEFUL: It is safe to say, anything you hear that the protesters are in Ferguson, Missouri, you can almost count on the opposite.

19 year old Joshua Williams has been arrested by St. Louis police on Friday after several local media outlets and store surveillance captured images of him trying to set a pile of wood on fire outside the QuikTrip on North Hanley Road in Berkeley early Wednesday during the riots following the police shooting of an armed black teenager.  According to court documents, Williams confessed to setting fires at the store in a videotaped interview.  Williams was charged with arson in the first degree, a felony. He is also charged with felony burglary and misdemeanor stealing for allegedly taking a lighter, gum and money from the store. Williams was being held Saturday on $30,000 bond.

One of the most frequently quoted and photographed Ferguson protesters was charged Saturday with setting fire to a Berkeley convenience store last week.

St. Louis County police arrested Joshua Williams, 19, of St. Louis, on Friday after several local media outlets and store surveillance captured images of him trying to set a pile of wood on fire outside the QuikTrip on North Hanley Road early Wednesday.

Williams confessed to setting fires at the store in a videotaped interview, according to court documents.

Police say Williams entered the QuikTrip shortly after looters shattered its glass doors during protests of the death of Antonio Martin, 18, who a police officer had shot earlier at the Mobil station across the street. Surveillance footage from the Mobil store shows Martin point what police say is a gun at a Berkeley officer before the officer fatally shoots him.

Williams can be seen in videos both inside and outside the looted QuikTrip, authorities said.

Joshua Williams (St. Louis County PD photo)

MSNBC profiled Joshua Williams as an advocate of peaceful protests. Of course they did. They also employ race hustler Al Sharpton and call him a journalist and doctored the George Zimmerman 911 calls to make him sound like a racist. Once again, those that the liberals make out to be heroes, turn out to be frauds.

Williams has been quoted as an advocate for peaceful protests.

An MSNBC profile of Williams in September quoted him as saying, “We have to come together as one and show them we can be peaceful, that we can do this. If not, they’re going to just want us to act up so (police) can pull out their toys on us again.”

Later, he continued: “I learned that we have to stand up and that you can’t get nowhere with violence but you can always move people without it.”

MSNBC – Portrait of a protester in Ferguson, Missouri:

When someone from the crowd threw a rock or a bottle, the officers fired rubber bullets and tear gas into the crowd of overwhelmingly peaceful protesters.

During one emotionally raw moment, Williams, also 18, screamed at officers until his eyes were red and wet. Beads of sweat bubbled from his brow and his body grew tense. His voice strained under the shrill of pain swelling from his throat.

As he stepped closer and closer to the police line, a young pastor, Willis Johnson, wrapped Williams in a hug and pleaded with him to calm down. Williams broke down in the older man’s arms and a single tear tumbled down each of their cheeks.

“I don’t know if most people will get over this or want to get over this,” Williams said, sitting across from the police station earlier this week. “I think we can be better if we can all come together. We might have to come together and show that we can work together and overthrow the system. But we have to come together as one and show them we can be peaceful, that we can do this. If not they’re going to just want us to act up so they can pull out their toys on us again.”