it. you are looking at live pictures now. john siegenthaler is going to take it from me in just a few seconds. we'll explain what you are seeing, and we'll go back to our reporters on the scenes. stay with us. hi, everyone, i'm john siegenthaler in new york. decision day an announcement from the grand jury expected tonight in the michael brown case. culture of silence, disturbing rape allegations. diplomatic breakdown. another extension as iran

nuclear talks stall again. ♪ >> tonight the grand jury in the michael brown case has made a decision on whether to charge the police officer who killed brown. we expect to hear what it is at 9:00 pm eastern time, and we'll bring that to you live. but we begin with the shakeup at the white house. chuck hagel unexpectedly submitted his resignation. jamie macintyre has more. >> reporter: the sense you get from talking to senior officials is that president obama felt it was necessary to shake up his national security team, and that defense secretary, chuck hagel was the cabinet member most out of -- step with the president.

he performed the duty of welcoming the new zealand defense minister just hours after stepping down. >> i have submitted by resignation as secretary of defense. >> president obama who turned to the former enlisted soldier to manage the war portrayed the decision as mutual. >> we determined that having guided the department through this transition, it was now an appropriate time for him to conclude his services. >> reporter: he has been receiving criticism in recent months, especially over battling isil in iraq and syria. >> the secretary is fully committed to his job as defense secretary, and leading this department.

and he looks forward to doing that. >> reporter: last week he was asked point blank if he still enjoyed the pull support of the president. >> i don't think i would be here if i didn't. but you will have to ask him that. >> reporter: one of the pentagon's sharpest critics john mccain blamed the departure on frustration with the administration: but pentagon officials disputed that, one senior insisting: republicans who notably did not embrace chuck hagel when they -- when the senate confirmed him with just 4 g.o.p.

votes, today were rallying to his defense. the -- he was called an excellent defense secretary. and he said the president should now ask himself is it them or is it me. john? >> jamie thank you. with hagel's resignation, president obama will have to find his fourth defense secretary. the search come as the administration tackles a host of challenges from isil to ebola. mike viqueira is in washington with more. >> reporter: good evening, john. it's the first cabinet casualty since the midterm blowout suffered by his party. but it's clear that chuck hagel was on shaky ground from the start. from the confirmation hearing to the moment he quit, it was a rough go for chuck hagel, and

some of his worst critics were fellow republicans. >> were you correct or incorrect? yes or no -- >> but reference -- [ overlapping speakers ] >> the question is were your right or wrong? >> reporter: his nomination came at a time of bradowns and budget cuts. it was a tough job even in the best environment, but he walked into a pentagon already at odds with the white house. his two predecessors trashed the white house for an overbearing style. >> it was that micro management that grove me crazy. >> reporter: and president obama's policies like publicly ruling out ground troops. >> you never tell your enemy what the tell you are going to do. >> reporter: hagel pushed the

administration's pivot to asia, but then the lid came off in iraq. >> isil is a sophisticated and well-funded as any group that we have seen -- they are beyond just a terrorist group. >> reporter: along with a new attorney general, hagel's departure leaves president obama with another high-profile post to fill. speculation has centered on two names that have come up before. despite any acrimony behind the scenes, in the end the president put the best face on the tenure. >> you are always given it to me straight, and for that i will always be grateful. >> john, republicans are using

this opportunity to pile on president obama's foreign policy. chuck mckeon said it is time for the president to ask is it them or is it me? chris, surprised by this? >> not really. you had the feeling that among other things that chuck hagel was exhausted. that he was running uphill all the time. >> fighting against who? the president? >> against the president's staff. against the national security council's staff. against the micro management, and against the world. he didn't sign on for this job. when he signed on there was no isil, no war in ukraine, no ebola. what you needed was 24-7 attention, and i think it was

just killing him. you have never seen him look as relaxed as he looked today. >> is this a response to isil? >> the two major things he had to deal with, one is isil. the other is ukraine. the other is the resurgence of the cold war. this is huge. and of course afghanistan as well. >> how tough it is to replace him now? >> well, i think one can find people to replace him. the question is can you confirm people in that job. i think michelle is probably the number one choice. she is a strategic thinker. she has a lot of experience at the pentagon. remember when president obama said unfortunately we don't have a strategy for isil? who was he thinking of? i think he was thinking of the pentagon. i think he hopes someone like

michelle can give him the answers. mccain wants to go to war everywhere. he wanted to send troops into nigeria to rescue the girls. so i hope whoever takes the position is not listening to john mccain. >> but can he influence the president's decision here? >> i think he will have a lot of influence on who gets confirmed. but now that he really does have the power, with it comes the level of responsible he didn't have when he was on the outside. >> what is that? >> he doesn't want to leave the united states without a secretary of defense in these times. he may have a list, but i think the president will be in the best position -- >> and hagel's legacy. what does he leave behind?

>> a mess. not of his doing, but one that he couldn't begin to fix. >> but if he couldn't fix it -- it is just about energy and bandwidth here? >> i think those are relevant, but i don't think he -- he had the record as a soldier, but not an the administrator of the pentagon. >> is that the president's fault? by making the wrong choice? >> well, i think again, the world in 2013 was very different than it is today. and the fault is that we didn't see these problems coming. and that is the problem of the president. >> we have heard the president said no boots on the ground, but does this -- do these situations require the united states to get more involved than they have gotten up until now in this

administration? >> well, you know, it's a very fluid situation. when we talk about no boots on the ground in iraq, for instance. when obama was oning in 2008, talking about getting out of iraq, he was still talking about leaving 50,000 americans there. what happened in the interim is the iraqis told us to get out. so at the end of the day we pulled out completely. now we're way short of 50,000 on the ground. >> you spent a great deal of your time in europe, how is europe going to read this move with hagel? this >> confusion. >> again. >> again. this once again conveyed an image of an confused and indecisive administration. >> it doesn't sound good. >> no, but i'm not sure there was any alternative. >> thank you very much. ferguson, missouri and the rest of the nation will get an

answer tonight. the grand jury's decision of whether to indict darren wilson in the killing of michael brown will come. >> reporter: john, good evening, just about an hour ago we saw national guard troops going inside this building. and a gaggel of reporters are currently standing in the lobby waiting to be escorted up to the room where this decision will be given in less than an hour. and the governor came out and pleaded with the public to not have any violence tonight. let's listen to what he had to say. >> our shared hope and expectation is regardless of the decision, people on all

shieds -- sides, show tolerance, mutual respect, and restraint. >> reporter: now we're awaiting this decision as we have said. very few protesters here where we're at in front of the justice center in clayton, probably a dozen or so to my left. clearly the situation in ferguson is different. we have also found out the michael brown family tomorrow will have their own press conference. but this area anxiously awaiting a lot of anxiety. you can just sort of feel it, as the grand jury will announce their decision at 9:00 pm eastern, john. >> can you give us an idea of how this will unfold? or do you know? >> we don't even know who is going to be speaking at 9:00 p.m. those details have not been provided to those of us out

here. we do know that one person from each media organization is going to be allowed into this room. we have our person in the lobby as many other organizations do. so we're not sure how this is going to go down. all we know is that there is a decision whether or not officer dooirn wilson is indicted on the charges of murder of michael brown, 18 years old, who laid in the street for four and a half hours until his body was taken out on august 9th. >> thank you. and we will cover this at 9:00 eastern time. attorney reeva martin is in los angeles tonight. how unusual is this grand jury announcement decision, investigation? >> very unusual, john. this whole scripted rollout is quite -- you know, remarkable. as early as 9:00, 10:00 this

morning, some networks were reporting that the grand jury had made a decision. yet we're five, six, seven, eight hours after the announcement was made before anyone comes forward and tells the public what that decision is, almost as if somehow the delay will prevent the protest. >> well, i was going to say is there a legal reason for this? >> none whatsoever. i think it has more to do with coordination of the various police agencying. i have to believe that somebody made the decision they had to convene all of these groups. they have been telling us they have been working on their coordinated strategy for weeks if not months. >> they waited to make this decision until 9:00, 8:00 central time. it's dark.

they have closed the schools tomorrow. i'm trying to figure out why. >> some cynical people, john -- i have been following this very closely not only in the news but also social media, and my twitter feed says, the temperatures are falling, and it's getting really cold outside, so in addition to the people being off of work, the temperatures are changing, and to be out in a protest in 20 degree weather is very different than this afternoon. so people are becoming distrusting in this process, and i think the delay has just added to that. >> these are the pictures that have been so disturbing in the past, and we are seeing them again live tonight around the street where there was activity before by protesters, and now traffic shut down, protesters in the middle of the street.

these are the scenes of some chaos in the area that are beginning to unfold and are -- i guess the most disturbing we have seen tonight. in the meantime, let me ask you this, if darren wilson is indicted, talk about the charges he could face. >> well, there are four different charges, there's first degree murder, second degree murder, volunteer manslaughter, and involunteer manslaughter. the involuntary manslaughter could be as little as four to seven years. so there's some speculation that maybe the grand jury would split the baby and indict on some manslaughter charge, and that would somehow assuage those in the community who believe that officer wilson could be

indicted. >> if he's not charged by this prosecutor, could he be charged by another? >> there's the possibility of the federal civil rights charge we heard a lot about. we heard eric holder went into ferguson shortly after the shooting, and he said he was going to have a very vigorous investigation of whether there were any civil rights violations, and if there were, he would file an actual civil rights charge against the officer. and there is the possibility of civil trial filed against the police department, against darren wilson on behalf of michael brown's parents. >> surprised by what you are seeing tonight? >> no. and i can't believe the governor, and others are surprised by this. we know no matter what happens

is there will be protests. but we have heard the protesters are more organized. lots of community leaders have come together, and have actually engaged with the police department. and hopefully we'll see no violence. >> yeah, we hope and pray for calm. thank you. >> thanks. coming up next, what the talks on iran's nuclear program have accomplished and what they haven't. and allegations of rape on campus.

these are live pictures from ferguson, missouri tonight just outside the police station in ferguson where a large group of

protesters and the media have gathered. we're waiting for the grand jury decision on whether or not to indict darren wilson. but instead of a deal on iran's nuclear program, there's more waiting. the deadline to reach an agreement was extended today by seven months. we have reports from austria and israel. >> reporter: the talks had broken up without agreement, but secretary kerry and the other ministers involved were putting on brave faces. the message very firmly that this is not the end of the road. >> today we are closer to a deal that would make the entire world, especially our allies and partners, israel, and in the gulf, safer and more secure. is it possible in the end we just won't arrive at a workable

agreement? absolutely. we are certainly not going to sit at the negotiating table forever absent measurable progress. but given how far we have come over the past year, and particularly in the last few days, this is not certainly the time to get up and walk away. >> reporter: in tehran, the president was similarly upbeat, sooner or later, he said, there will be an agreement. >> translator: we haven't reached a final agreement, but we have made progress. today things are quite different than three months ago. >> reporter: but how much will have changed four months from now? or in seven month's time when they hope finally to reach a deal. this is a process cloaked in secrecy, being watched by conservative skeptics on both

sides, and on which deadlines have come to mean little. well, we thought we were in for a repeat of geneva last year, negative predictions up to the last moment and suddenly a deal emerges. the question is whether enough progress can be shown to have been made to convince skek ticks to carry on. >> it will be more difficult for the obama administration to convince the congress to put more on the table and bring back relief. >> reporter: what we know is significant gaps remain in the ability to reduce weapon's grade materials in return tos sanction's relief. what we don't know is how far

apart the two sides really are. they now have seven more months to succeed, where up to now they have failed. israel is welcoming the extension of the nuclear talks. nick schifrin is in jerusalem with more. >> reporter: good evening. for more than a decade they have been negotiating this nuclear program. it is what president obama has called one of the biggest challenges to international peace and security. you heard from secretary kerry that the deal will be extended. and that is being welcomed by officials here in israel as well as allies in the gulf like saudi arabia. what those allies were worrying about is maintaining a bad deal. but they heard from kerry tonight that the u.s. wasn't willing to give what iran wants, expedited sanctions relief,

because iran isn't yet willing to give up that enrichment capacity, and that's why you heard prime minister netenyahu come out and praise the deal tonight, he said, quote: despite those public threats, privately israeli officials admit that they know no deal will actually remove iran's capacity entirely, so they're pushing for as good as deal as possible:

the question is, will we ever get to a deal where these particular details are actually relevant and discussed in public? well secretary of state kerry himself admitted that he doesn't know if we will. also in israel, a controversial bill over the country's identity. the legislation would officially define israel as the nation of the jewish people. the move follows weeks of deadly violence between palestinians and jews. opponents call the bill discriminatory and fear it will inflame tennings. the prime minister says it will ensure equal rights for all. the bill heads to parliament next. up next on this broadcast, allegations of rape at the university of virginia and the so-called culture of rape at fraternities. and why high school students are

sticking around for 13th grade when they don't have to. ♪

this is al jazeera america. i'm john siegenthaler, coming up, decision day. at the top of the hour, we will learn where a ferguson police officer will be indicted for the killing of michael brown.

plus campus crackdown the response to allegations of rape. and super seniors, why some oregon students are choosing to take an extra here of high school. ♪ fallout tonight at the university of virginia over new allegations of a brutal rape on campus. hundreds protested this weekend, and school officials suspended all fraternity activity in response to a new magazine article about an alleged attack in 2012, and new accusations of a coverup. >> reporter: founded by thomas jefferson, it's one of the top-rank top-ranked universities. but the rolling stone article reports that drinking is

widespread and sexual assault far too common, especially at fraternity parties. the article's author told al jazeera america that the school was very uncooperative. >> i think they have known for a long time that a great harm was done to this particular student and many students. they are only taken action now because there has been a great harm done to its reputation. >> reporter: the article has prompted protests on campus. students at professors demanding the administration crackdown on sexual violence. victims profiled in the article said when they did have the courage to report assaults, the school rarely took strong action against the perpetrators. monday the head of uva's sexual assault support group said the

campus needs to change. >> we as studented in the role that we play, we are here saying we are unified against this issue, and now the ball is in your court. >> reporter: the fraternity where the rape alleged i will took place was vandalized over the weekend. >> when i first read the article, i was simply sick to my stomach. it was shocking and horrific. >> reporter: the president has asked the charlotte'sville police to investigate the 2012 incident, and has asked anyone who knows what happened that night to come forward. >> it does cast a negative light on the fraternity culture. and i think it was for the best that the article was written,

and people have to face the harsh reality of what is going on. >> reporter: a reality that some students say has been swept under the rug far too long. let's go back to the story we have been following tonight from ferguson, missouri. we should learn in just a little while whether officer darren wilson will be indicted or will not be indicted in the shooting death of teenager michael brown. the jury has several options from first degree murder to manslaughter to no charge at all. you can see police officers gathered outside the police station in ferguson, and protesters and police are coming together tonight in many parts of the ferguson area. patricia bynes is a committee woman in ferguson township and joins us again from ferguson tonight. patricia welcome. can you tell us what protesters

have planned tonight? >> hi. well, one thing that is being planned is waiting to hear what the announcement is. and then after that, there are some direct actions that are planned. but one thank is steady and has been constant is protests here at the ferguson police department. this is something that you can definitely count on continuing. >> direct action. what do you mean by that? >> direct actions are planned protests that have organizers that have been trained and are completely prepared to keep people safe and hold protesters and police accountable. so not just organic type of protesting. >> are you saying like blocking streets or, you know, forms of -- of civil disobedience?

>> i -- i don't know what -- what is planned. i'm not involved in organizing those actions. what i can tell you that they are organized and safety for the protesters and holding the police accountable is the number one priority. >> patricia, we talked about this before. do you have any sense, or any information about why this was handled the way it has been tonight. why they are making an announcement at 8:00 central time in your area? what is this about? >> i have no idea. i don't know what the actual decision. i don't know why they are having it late at night. i don't know why the governor made an announcement and then there is another announcement. i have no idea. it's almost as if we're not quite ready for prime time. but maybe we can get some of these questions answered.

because it all seems a little strange. >> what are the protesters saying to you on the ground? >> oh, well, there's this anticipation that is take place right now, the understanding of why did the governor say one thing, and then we have to wait so long for an announcement. i don't know. people have been adamant that they want justice, and what they are looking for are answers, and tonight we know that we are going to get some of that. >> how many people are around you? >> there are -- i'm really not good -- i would say maybe 200 people out here roughly right now. >> and can you give us a sense of -- of their feeling there? or any -- any -- anything that you have gleaned from what is going on? >> well, people are stopping traffic.

cars are having to turn around. we have the chants we have come to know over these 100-plus days. they are taking place. we want an indictment. these cops don't like it. that's a very popular chant out here now. police are out. there is a barricade between the police and protesters. and there is a lot of energy out here tonight. so we'll have to see what happens. >> all right. patricia, as always, thank you for joining us tonight. we appreciate it. a few months ago the community of ferguson was probably little known outside of missouri, but the shooting of michael brown put this town and its police force right in the middle of the spotlight. >> reporter: it was a saturday afternoon when this neighborhood suddenly became a crime scene. 18-year-old michael brown was lying in the street after being

shot six times, twice in the head by a ferguson police officer. brown was unarmed. within hours hundreds of outraged protesters took to the streets. but soon some turned violent, looting or vandalizing businesses. more than 30 people were arrested. michael brown's parents pleaded with the community to protest peacefully, as they tried to piece together what happened on their son. >> no one has the right to take that child's name and drag it through the mud because you are angry. don't be so angry that you distort the image of who his mother and father told us he was. >> reporter: the weekend of protests turned into days of anger and demands for the arrest of the officer who shot brown.

>> i don't want society to see this as just an african american thing. we just want justice period. >> we don't want a coverup. we are very, very scared and very skeptical. we historically have been racially divided. >> reporter: with tension escalating, police responded with armored military-style vehicles and full swat gear. we started getting bottles and bricks thrown at us, and then a molotov cocktail went off. we need everyone to calm down. >> reporter: some journalists found themselves being arrested. and others were tear gassed including our own crew. police released very few details, waiting six days to

reveal the name of the officer who shot brown. and at the same time they released surveillance photos and video that showed michael brown stealing from a nearby convenience store before the shooting. the protests eventually diminish diminished. nearly a month after the brown shooting, the department of justice opened an investigation. >> in ferguson our investigation will assess the police department's use of force, including deadly force. it will analyze stops, searches and arrests, and examine the treatment of individuals detained in jail, in addition to other potentially discriminatory techniques that have been brought to light. >> reporter: the protests drew thousands from all over the country. >> we want them to know, there is older generations brothers and sisters of all colors

willing to put their bodies on the line. >> reporter: more than 50 people were arrested including cornell west. michael brown's death shed new light on police shootings across the country. the fbi says the number of people shot and killed by police has been rising. there were two more high-profile cases in the last week. >> yeah, john, experts say the shooting in ferguson is not alone. ferguson is the shadow that now hangs over many other police shootings. >> whether there was ferguson or not, doesn't matter to me. >> reporter: outrage over michael brown's death touched a nerve felt across the country. over the weekend, a police officer killed a 12-year-old boy who was carrying a pellet gun.

>> what happened to me is that it happened to cleveland, and it happened to a child, so ferguson being out there, or not being out there, it really doesn't matter to me. >> reporter: nationally the number of officer-involved shootings has been rising. police officers killed 461 felony suspects last year, the most in nearly two decades. those killings were ruled justifiable, but the number could be higher since not all departments report their police shootings, nor are they required too, leading to fear that activists say show police officer are using too much force. >> there are a number of officers that see a man of color, and treat them disrespectfully. >> reporter: from new york city to new mexico, deep anger over

police behavior and tactics. and in new york as a grand jury decides whether to charge a officer for a choke hold daelt -- death in july. >> the police officer gun was discharged one time. >> reporter: that officer has been stripped of his gun and badge while the department investigates. in albuquerque, leaders agreed to overhaul the police department after its department killed 34 people in two years. >> it is also a road map for rebuilding the trust between the community and the police. >> reporter: the city joined new orleans, and seattle in having federal monitors watching their police officer departments, a fate that could also fall on

ferguson. the justice department is conducting its own investigations into darren wilson, and his department to see whether ferguson's force has a history of targeting minorities. john? >> thank you. we are joined by the representative of blacks in america. good to see you. >> you too. >> there have been two shootings resulting in the deaths of two african american men. how common are these sorts of shootings that we were talking about? >> those shootings are common. there are stories that go nationally. and then there are stories that just fall underneath the radar, and unfortunately the department of justice and the federal government need to be more proactive in k looking at policies and procedures, and training of officers.

>> and also a diverse police officer force as well. >> yes, of course. >> which among other things is part of the problem, it appears in ferguson, missouri. can you talk about why there are places like ferguson that have a majority of african american voters and yet a white police force. >> african-americans is the only ethnic group that don't have a say in how their community is policed. we try to get the community involved in voting, but also there's a resentment in young african american males and females that are qualified to actually take the test because of what they went through even coming up as a teenager in their encounters with police. >> let me get your reaction regarding rudy giuliani. he said that the media should focus more on black people

killing one another instead of police force diversity. let's listen to a bit of that. >> we have tried to very hard to make the police fort in new york city as proportionate as we can. i think we do a pretty good job. i find it very disappointing that you are not discussing the fact that 93% of blacks in america are killed by other blacks. we're talking about the exception here. we are talking about the significant exception, 93% of blacks are killed by other blacks. >> let me tell -- >> how do you react to that? >> i think it's sad that a former mayor and u.s. attorney would make a statement like that. 83% of white murder victims are killed by other whites, but they do not call that white on white crime. and when you have mass killings

of white people they call it a tragedy, so not being sensitive to the issues in the black community and then not putting -- he was the mayor, and we know the history of the mayor, that there were white officers in the black community and they were [ inaudible ] in the nypd under his administration. >> let me push back a bit on that. yes, those figures are correct. >> right. >> but at the same time, he is pointing to a problem of violence in african american communities that -- that continues to this day. i mean we see them in major cities across america. is that an issue that needs to be linked to the issue of white police officers shooting black americans -- >> no, not at all. crime and violence in communities of color -- or in communities that have high poverty rate, we do have to look

at education. you have to look at economic development. you have to look at job creation. you just can't try to tie that into having a bunk of white cops in a black community. that doesn't make any sense. >> you are watching these pictures along with me tonight, what do african american police officers around the country saying about this tonight? >> well, for decades, african american police officers have been screaming for reform. we say when there's a victim in the black community, we're 4 degrees of separation from that. we know the victim. we know somebody who knows the victim. the victim is a family member, or we are the victim. because a lot of black cops are shot at when they are off duty in plane clothes. >> thank you very much for your

perspective. people on social media have been speaking out on this tonight. wajahat ali joins us with more from washington, d.c. what are you hearing? >> john, our online community has been anxiously awaiting this decision. check out my screen, lennie tweeted in: john i hope you can see this. this is cassandra. she is wearing a bullet-proof vest. she wore it before she went out in ferguson to engage in peaceful protests. give this is a listen. >> i'm here waiting for the grand jury announcement. i think more people here are concerned about the police response than the protesters

response. i by the protesters will be largely peaceful until the police escalate the situation. >> and we have a facebook comment from cynthia: now social media is what is mobilelizing the local grass root communities. i have a map here, john, if you can see, using the hashtag ferguson, darren wilson, and mike brown this is what people are tweeting: all the way in chicago, we're seeing things from loss angela and new york. there are lots of hashtags that are mobilizing people. john, on the flip side you have

hands up don't shoot, and you have pants up, don't loot. there may be some tweets i'm going to read that may offend some viewers: we see a racist twij in that hashtag. these two men ran 500 miles to michael brown's home. we are seeing the social media mobilizing communities and divided in the situation. >> thank you waj. this live look at ferguson, missouri as the community, the nation, and the world await their grand jury decision in the michael brown case. we'll have that at the top of the hour. we're going to take a quick break.

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welcome back everyone. you are looking at live pictures from clayton, missouri, this is where we're expecting the prosecutor in the case to speak in about six minutes. in the meantime let's take a look at some protests, not in ferguson, actually in new york city. this is is just one of several protests going on around the country. i want to bring in areevia from the los angeles area. do you expect this will be a

long drownout process, or short and sweet? what do you think? >> i think they are prepared to answer some questions, john. we have waiting for hours for this decision. i am hearing from people on the ground that the weather has dropped dramatically, that it's bitter-cold on the streets, and some believe this is a plan to quell some of the protesters, and a hope that people won't come out. but people are starting to make their voices known. >> answers is what we're hearing the protesters want tonight. obviously we expect to get an answer on whether or not darren wilson, the police officer in the case will be indicted. how often does a prosecutor in a grand jury case reveal what goes on behind closed doors in a

case? >> not very often. we were told that he was going to release everything. that he was audio recording everything. and then we heard from the justice officer that the judge responsible for the grand jury has said wait a minute, that decision has not been made, and it's her ultimate decision to make. so it's not clear right now, john, if any of the information will be released. clearly if there is an indictment, we don't the information won't be released, because it will be used by the prosecutors in a criminal trial. >> yeah, this is important information if it does go to courted. but if it doesn't go to court, obviously the people of ferguson have a lot of questions about what the grand jury knew and how id made up its mind. will we know the names of the

grand jury members? >> i think a lot of that information will be shielded. the grand jury process is designed by its very nature to be secretive. we're not supposed to know who the jurors are or what evidence was given. if the information is released, what information would the judge will being to release. there were witnesses who came forward that thought they were testifying in secret. do they want their names disseminated to the public? you can imagine if you are an african american and you took a position contrary to mike brown, you may have some concerns about your name and identity being revealed. >> thank you very much, we're going to continue to follow this. our reporter sebastian is in the back of that courtroom. outside of the courthouse a

crowd has gathers, and outside of the ferguson, missouri police department, a crowd has gathered as well. we're going to follow this story right up to the announcement. joie chen is standing by and our coverage continues on al jazeera america.

>> on "america tonight": a special report. ferguson, decision. the grand jury's announcement, will anyone face trial for the death of unarmed teenager michael brown gunned down by per darren wilson. >> our shared hope is regardless of the decision, people on all sides show tolerance, mutual respect and restraint. >> will the decision ignite a