Protesters torch police car, damage businesses in Atlanta after activist killed
January 21, 2023
Three businesses were damaged and an Atlanta Police car was set on fire during Saturday's protests.
Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp condemned the protesters’ actions Saturday night. “Violence and unlawful destruction of property are not acts of protest,” he tweeted. “They are crimes that will not be tolerated in Georgia and will be prosecuted fully.”
Protests erupted in Atlanta in response to the death of Manuel Teran, who was killed by police on Wednesday.
Schierbaum said the protests began peacefully marching in the city around 5 p.m. when some members began smashing property. The ATF and FBI are assisting with the investigation.
Police said protesters used an explosive device to set fire to an Atlanta Police car.
“We already know that we have arrested actors that have already been involved in other criminal activity and are involved in a manner to deter the building of the public safety training center,” he told reporters.
The mayhem comes after Manuel Esteban Paez Teran was shot and killed by Georgia State Patrol troopers who were trying to clear protesters camping near the site of the Atlanta Public Safety Training Center — dubbed “Cop City.” Paez had allegedly shot and wounded an officer, officials said.
The chaos comes after a group called Scenes from the Atlanta Forest put up a social media post Wednesday calling for “retaliation.” “‘On Friday, January 20th, wherever you are, you are invited to participate in a night of rage in order to honor the memory of our fallen comrade,” the message continued.
Police said downtown Atlanta was secured and safe by 7 p.m.
Opponents of the training center have been protesting for over a year by building platforms in surrounding trees and camping out at the site.
They claim that the $90 million project, which would be built by the Atlanta Police Foundation, involves cutting down so many trees that it would be environmentally damaging.
Six protesters were taken into custody.
Activists have questioned the police version of events in Teran’s death and have called for the release of law enforcement body camera footage. GBI said Friday that there is no bodycam footage of the shooting.
Manuel Teran, 26, was killed after he allegedly shot and wounded a Georgia state trooper.
Spokespeople with “Stop Cop City,” who have claimed several times that they are peaceful protesters, defended their actions as nonviolent in a statement provided to WSB-TV.
“Destruction of material is fundamentally different from violence. All
reported acts appear to be explicitly targeted against the financial
backers & goons of the Atlanta Police Foundation, a shady nonprofit
that funnels weapons and military gear into our city to wage war on
black and brown folks,” the organization said.
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