Anonymous Claims Ferguson Police Officer Darren Wilson Will Not be Indicted for Mike Brown Killing

Two sources say that hacker collective Anonymous have discovered that the police officer who shot and killed teenager Mike Brown will not face any charges from the incident.

In a tweet published on Monday morning, 27 October, the @OpFerguson Twitter account, which has been coordinating the hacktivist group's campaign since the controversial shooting on 9 August, said:

The account followed up the initial tweet with several others, discussing the source of the leaks, and how certain they are of the validity of what they have been told: "We have been receiving very reliable leaks on this for several days. As we have always done, we chose to wait until we were sure. We are."

The hacktivists went further, claiming that one of the sources of their information was a government official who has had access to the internal communications of the police:

Officially, no decision has been made yet as to whether or not Officer Wilson will be indicted in connection with the shooting, with a grand jury not set to decide until 7 January.

According to @OpFerguson, their sources suggest an official announcement will be within the next two weeks.

Such an announcement would likely lead to a revival of angry protests by people in Ferguson, similar to those which led to the National Guard being deployed.

According to the sources speaking to Anonymous, "virtually every local police agency as well as the National Guard and all local jails are on high alert" ahead of the official announcement.

Last week an official autopsy report into the shooting was leaked online. It stated that Officer Wilson shot Brown six times at close range, as the teenager ran towards him.

An accompanying toxicology report also reveals that Brown was under the influence of marijuana at the time of the incident.

Anonymous has been hugely influential in highlighting the perceived injustice in Brown's death and has helped bring the incident to the world's attention. It documented protests which flared in the wake of the shooting and the heavy-handed militarised response from the police.

The Ferguson Police Department initially refused to reveal the identity of the officer at the centre of the case, but another Anonymous-related Twitter account – @TheAnonMessage – released the personal details of a police officer it incorrectly identified as Brown's shooter.

While this harmed the credibility of Anonymous, the @OpFerguson Twitter account has so far been an accurate source of information about the incident, and has held back publishing information when has been unsure of its providence.