CLAYTON (AP) – Police have arrested protesters who interrupted Democrat Steve Stenger’s acceptance speech for the position of St. Louis County executive.
KTVI-TV reports about 15 protesters from Ferguson were escorted out of the Sheraton Clayton Plaza Hotel in Clayton by St. Louis County police. Some chanted the words “free speech” while they were being removed.
The protesters later congregated outside before an unspecified number were arrested. No charges have been reported.
Stenger apparently defeated Republican state lawmaker Rick Stream on Tuesday to become the county executive. The Ferguson police shooting of an unarmed black 18-year-old dominated the campaign, and many black activists and political leaders supported Stream.
Police didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment by the Associated Press on Tuesday night.