November, 3rd, 2014,
The Associated Press reported on Sunday that a FAA flight restriction over Ferguson during the height of the protests in August was aimed squarely at keeping the media away from the scene. In recordings obtained by the AP, local law enforcement and the FAA can be heard discussing the real objective of the flight restrictions that were first imposed on August 12th and continued for 12 days. At the time the no-fly zone was put in place, St. Louis County police denied that it was done to keep news helicopters from filming the protests and local law enforcement’s handling of protesters.
When the no-fly zone was first announced on August 12th, three days after the shooting death of Michael Brown, local law enforcement was already drawing harsh criticism for its reaction to protests. Images of tear gas, police carrying assault rifles and armored vehicles roaming the streets of Ferguson had already made national news. With police knowing that they would continue to use an outsized militarized presence to deal with demonstrations in Ferguson, a decision was made to limit what the media could show. Therefore, St. Louis County police requested the FAA to place flight restrictions on a 37-square-mile area directly over Ferguson.
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