在弗格森枪击案引发的骚乱之后，奥巴马曾公开表示：
“焚烧建筑物，焚烧汽车，毁坏财产，使人们处于危险之中，任何事都不是这些破坏行为的借口。这是犯罪。如果有人犯了罪，就应该被起诉。“
“Burning buildings, torching cars, destroying property, putting people at risk, that’s destructive and there’s no excuse for it. Those are criminal acts. People should be prosecuted if they commit criminal acts.”
“对于那些认为弗格森发生的事可以作为暴力行为借口的人，我对他们没有任何支持。我不会支持摧毁你们自己社区的行为。”
“To those that think that what happened in Ferguson is an excuse for violence, I do not have any sympathy for them. I have no sympathy at all for destroying your own communities.”