Ferguson No-Fly Was to Supress Media

When police in Ferguson asked for a 37-square-mile no-fly zone from the U.S. government for safety reasons, audio recordings show that the police really wanted it to keep away news helicopters during street protests. “They finally admitted it really was to keep the media out,” said one FAA manager about the St. Louis County Police in a series of recorded telephone conversations the The Associated Press got a hold of. “But they were a little concerned of, obviously, anything else that could be going on.” The police have maintained that the flight restriction was solely for safety, and had nothing to do with keeping the media from witnessing the police response to protests.