IE 11 is not supported. For an optimal experience visit our site on another browser.

Hacking Blamed For Ferguson Grand Jury Tweet That Sparked Probe

Susan Nichols says that she did not write a post suggesting a member of the grand jury had given her secret information.
Get more newsLiveon

A woman whose Twitter account allegedly sparked an investigation into possible misconduct by the Ferguson police-shooting grand jury claims she was hacked. Susan Nichols of St. Louis said she did not tweet "I know someone sitting on the grand jury of this case[.] There isn't enough at this point to warrant an arrest" — and she denied deleting the message and later the account itself. "It had to have been hacked," Nichols said Thursday, adding that she had not used the account in months because its privacy had been breached before.

She said she has "no contact" with anybody on the grand jury weighing possible charges against Officer Darren Wilson in the fatal shooting of unarmed black teenager Michael Brown. "I really feel bad for that family, for the loss of their son," she said.

St. Louis County prosecutors are investigating the tweet to see if someone violated grand jury secrecy rules and spoke about the evidence, but they had no immediate comment on Nichols' story. After her account was deleted, it was resurrected by someone who appeared to be trying to capitalize on its notoriety.

IN-DEPTH

— Aaron Mermelstein and Emmanuelle Saliba