The Department of Justice released a report on the Ferguson, Missouri, Police Department shooting of Michael Brown that exonerated Officer Darren Wilson.

Posted by The Daily Show: Ears Edition, Aug 28, 2026Checked Nov 2, 2026

Polygraph verdictTrue

Sources: 8 support
Said: 1 time·
Confidence: 90%

The Daily Show: Ears EditionAug 28, 2026

The DOJ's March 4, 2015 report on the Michael Brown shooting cleared Officer Darren Wilson of federal civil rights charges, finding no prosecutable violation, and multiple sources confirm this. The claim omits the post's 'two weeks ago' timing, which the sources do not support, but that peripheral detail does not affect the core assertion.

Our two reads of who says this, and how, disagree, so it counts as the post's own claim.

What was said

… Show respect. So, you and all your false patriotism and to be frank, oftentimes this show is critical of Fox, but only because they're terrible, like sometimes almost shockingly terrible. For instance, two weeks ago, Justice Department released a report on the Ferguson, Missouri, Police Department shooting of Michael Brown, basically exonerating Officer Darren Wilson and debunking the hands up, don't shoot narrative. And then they released a second DOJ report stating that the Ferguson Police Department routinely violates the Constitution and federal law with a pattern of racial bias, unreasonable force, intentional …

The Daily Show: Ears Edition · Aug 28, 2026· from the transcriptPost →

What we found

Supports. The DOJ's own report, dated March 4, 2015, concluded that Darren Wilson's actions did not constitute prosecutable violations under 18 U.S.C. § 242.[2]

Supports. The Associated Press reported that the Justice Department cleared Wilson in the fatal shooting while issuing a separate critical report on the Ferguson police force.[1]

Supports. NBC News reported that the DOJ cleared Wilson of civil rights violations in an 87-page report released March 4, 2015, and that prosecutors could not disprove his fear-for-his-life testimony.[3]

Supports. Coverage from ABC News, STL Public Radio and the St. Louis American confirms the DOJ declined to charge Wilson and that the report found no prosecutable conduct, and the New York Times and Hoover Institution describe the report as exonerating Wilson.[4][5][6][7][8]

Context. Sources describe the clearance as a legal finding, not a finding that the shooting was blameless; the same DOJ released a separate report finding the Ferguson Police Department violated the Constitution.[1][4][8]

Sources

8 sources: 1 fact-checker, 1 primary, 2 tier 2, 4 not rated

1US clears officer in Ferguson case, criticizes police forceapnews.com · fact-checker · cited for: supports, context
2DOJ Report on Shooting of Michael Brownjustice.gov · primary source · cited for: supports
3DOJ Says Officer Darren Wilson, Cop in Ferguson Case, Won't ...nbcnews.com · tier 2 · cited for: supports
4Ferguson Report Puts ‘Hands Up' to Reality Testnytimes.com · tier 2 · cited for: supports, context
5Race Baiting And Fergusonhoover.org · not rated · cited for: supports
6Ferguson Report: DOJ Will Not Charge Darren Wilson in Michael Brown Shootingabcnews.com · not rated · cited for: supports
7Holder: DOJ 'work will go on in Ferguson and surrounding ...stlpr.org · not rated · cited for: supports
8DoJ releases reports - St. Louis Americanstlamerican.com · not rated · cited for: supports, context

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The Daily Show: Ears Edition · Aug 28, 2026Post →

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