Twitter Suspends Anonymous: Hacker Group Names ‘Random Citizen’ As Michael Brown's Shooter, Twitter Account Suspended, Group Threatens Police Officers

Twitter suspends Anonymous after their account named @TheAnonMessage posted what it believed to be the photo of the police officer who shot Michael Brown in Ferguson, Missouri. The social media site suspends Anonymous hacker group Thursday.

According to the Latin Post, protests in the St. Louis-area city continue as protesters and police clash night after night since the shooting of the unarmed 18-year old on Saturday.

After the incident, many have put pressure on authorities to release the name of the officer, which they have kept secret continuously since Saturday. The police cited fear over possible retribution from the community.

Twitter suspends Anonymous since police withholding the shooter's information hasn't stopped the hacker group from releasing the name of a random man they believe to be the shooter.

Twitter suspends Anonymous only after the group has tweeted a series of threats to the St. Louis County Police Department this week. The international hacker collective Anonymous used the @TheAnonMessage account to post the personal information of their alleged killer, reports Business Insider.

According to the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, after the post, police and the Ferguson mayor both claimed the information to be wrong. The Wire also pointed out commenters and the St. Louis PD responded to the tweet saying the man identified 'is not even an officer with Ferguson or St. Louis County PD. Do not release more info on this random citizen.'

Jim Prosser, a Twitter spokesperson, told Business Insider of the decision why Twitter suspends Anonymous.

He stated that in their Twitter Rules, they 'don't comment on individual accounts, but you can see the reasons why an account may be suspended.'

Meanwhile, after Twitter suspends Anonymous, the handle @TheAnonMessage confirmed via email that the account was suspended 'for practicing free speech.' Though the person using that handle said he would be using another account named @TheAnonMessage2, the account has been inactive.

According to the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, on Thursday noon, the account said that it would suspend future document releases 'until further notice.'

On Wednesday, even before Twitter suspends Anonymous, the group released the St. Louis Police Department's audio tapes from the day that Brown was shot, reports the Business Insider.

Also, according to CNN, the group was able to hack the computers from the police department.

All these were reportedly part of their ongoing campaign called "Operation Ferguson".

Also before Twitter suspends Anonymous Thursday, another Anonymous associate, claiming to be an "independent" member, set up a website and social media group to organize the campaign.

That outlet has even released a video and press release which partly addressed Ferguson police.

Their statement read, 'To the Ferguson Police Department and any other jurisdictions who are deployed to the protests: we are watching you very closely. If you abuse, harass - or harm in any way the protesters in Ferguson we will take every web based asset of your departments and governments off line.'

It continued, 'That is not a threat, it is a promise. If you attack the protesters, we will attack every server and computer you have. We will dox and release the personal information on every single member of the Ferguson Police Department, as well as any other jurisdiction that participates in the abuse.'

It added, 'We will seize all your databases and E-Mail spools and dump them on the Internet. This is your only warning.'

According to the Latin Post, the group also took credit for the St. Louis County Web crash at Ferguson City Hall Thursday morning. The city's site bwas flooded with traffic, reportedly a trademark cyber attack from the group.

Though police said they are aware of the problem, they do not know the full extent of it. As of Thursday morning, the St. Louis County government website, the police website, parks and revenue are amongst those not coming up, reports the St. Louis Post-Dispatch.

Before Twitter suspends Anonymous, the city's website went dark Tuesday morning. Phones also died apart from releasing information about police officers as well.

The group has urged residents to hit the streets after Brown was shot on Saturday.

Meanwhile the Latin Post reports that on Thursday, President Barack Obama already called for peace in Ferguson.

President Obama said, 'There is never excuse for violence against the police or for those who would use this tragedy as a cover for vandalism or looting.'

He added, 'There is also no excuse for police to use excessive force against peaceful protests or to throw protesters in jail for lawfully exercising their First Amendment rights.'

Twitter suspends Anonymous, however, this does not mean the group will stop with their hacktivism. Until justice is served for the killing of an unarmed teenager by police, protests may further increase.