Ferguson protesters arrested at Crabtree Valley Mall

According to witnesses, the protest started with just a handful of people, but quickly grew to a group of about 25 people in the food court. At one point chanting broke out and protesters began lying on the floor.

Maurice Sanders witnessed the protest in the food court. He said it made a lasting impression.

"I think it's really good," he said. "I think it's bringing awareness to the country as a whole that what happened in Ferguson is very important especially for young folks."

According to a mall spokesperson, the protest was supposed to be silent and peaceful, but around 6:15 p.m. the group began blaring bullhorns. She said when the group started causing a safety issue they were asked to leave. The group of demonstrators re-entered the building and when they refused to leave, arrests were made, she said.

In suburban St. Louis, demonstrators temporarily shut down three large malls.

Several stores lowered their security doors or locked entrances as at least 200 protesters sprawled onto the floor while chanting, "Stop shopping and join the movement," at the Galleria mall in Richmond Heights a few miles south of Ferguson, Missouri, where Officer Darren Wilson fatally shot Brown, who was unarmed, in August.

The action prompted authorities to close the mall for about an hour Friday afternoon, while a similar protest of about 50 people had the same effect at West County Mall in nearby Des Peres. It didn't appear that any arrests were made. Later Friday, the appearance of several dozen demonstrators led to the early closing of the Chesterfield Mall.

The protests, along with demonstrations in Chicago, New York, Seattle and northern California — where protesters chained themselves to trains — were among the largest in the country on Black Friday.