Ron Johnson, the Highway Patrol captain managing security in Ferguson, Missouri, said Tuesday that "peaceful protesters" should stay home.
In an interview with MSNBC, Johnson said that protesters should let the authorities handle "those who have been ruining our community." Johnson suggested that some people are using the protests as an opportunity to "loot stores and attack officers."
"Today, my hope is the peaceful protesters will stay home and protest during the daytime and stay home at night and let us take those who have been ruining our community and take them and deal with them," Johnson said.
Johnson's remarks come after "heavy gunfire" in Ferguson on Monday night, in which two people were shot and 31 arrested. The ongoing unrest is a response to a police officer killing Michael Brown, an unarmed black teenager.