Female Pastor Arrested In Ferguson While Protesting

Pastors have reportedly joined protesters in Ferguson, Missouri ahead of a grand jury decision regarding Officer Darren Wilson.

Recent reports indicate a female pastor, Rev. Rebecca Ragland of Ferguson's Episcopal Church of the Holy Communion, was arrested last week by Ferguson police for protesting in the St. Louis suburb.

Although Ragland argues her protest was peaceful, she was allegedly arrested for standing in the street and blocking traffic near the Ferguson police headquarters.

"I was completely stunned […] I was grabbed so hard that I fell to the ground. Then I was just being yanked and it was pretty rough. I'm hurting today," Pastor Ragland told the Daily Mail shortly after the incident last week. "I think everybody was completely shocked. We were dispersing at that point. Then they came down so I turned around and I thought, 'Well I'm a de-escalator so I need to stay at the front.'"

Other pastors have expressed interest in showing their support for the people of Ferguson while protesting. Carl Smith Sr., pastor at New Beginning Missionary Baptist in Woodson Terrace, recently told Bloomberg News that religious authorities in the St. Louis suburb need to offer more help and guidance to the apparent racial tensions that exist in Ferguson.

"We have stopped doing what we were supposed to do," Smith recently told the media outlet. "We have stayed confined to our four walls, instead of coming outside of these four walls."

A press conference held later today is expected to announce the grand jury decision of whether Officer Darren Wilson should receive criminal charges for shooting and killing unarmed teen Michael Brown back in August.