Michael Brown's Mother Accused of 'Armed Robbery' of a Relative

The mother of Michael Brown, the 18-year-old shot by a Ferguson, Missouri police officer in August, is now being accused of the strong-arm robbery of her own mother-in-law.

The robbery is apparently part of a family feud over who is allowed to benefit from the sale of Michael Brown memorabilia such as T-shirts.

Brown’s mother, Lesley McSpadden, 34, was allegedly part of a group of up to 30 people who descended upon a tent operated by the dead teen’s grandmother, Pearlie Gordon, 54. Gordon was selling T-shirts out of a tent in a parking lot in Ferguson. The shirts had “Justice for Mike Brown” printed on them.

It is alleged that McSpadden did not feel that her mother-in-law should be able to make money from Brown’s death, and this disagreement led to the assault.

Witnesses told police that on October 18, McSpadden and her crew attacked the grandmother’s vending booth and not only stole $1,500 in shirts and $400 in cash, but also assaulted her mother-in-law and others manning the booth.

Witnesses report that McSpadden yelled, “You can’t sell this s**t” as she and others began to gather up the shirts.

One person was hospitalized after the attack, and another claimed to have been beaten with a pipe.

McSpadden allegedly told Gordon that she had “no patent” on the dead teen’s name so she shouldn’t be allowed to sell the T-shirts.

Through her attorney, McSpadden denies she assaulted anyone.

McSpadden and Brown’s father, Michael Senior, are set to speak at the United Nations Committee Against Torture on November 12 and 13. The pair had plans to leave for Geneva, Switzerland on November 10.

Ferguson police have confirmed that they are investigating the parking lot assault but have noted that no arrests have been made.

Follow Warner Todd Huston on Twitter @warnerthuston or email the author at igcolonel@hotmail.com.