On Saturday night, radical leftist protestors looted shops and set a police cruiser on fire in downtown Atlanta.
According to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, the protest reportedly started as a “largely peaceful” demonstration in retaliation for the death of activist Manuel Teran, 26, who was slain on Wednesday during a police sweep “in what the Georgia Investigations Bureau claimed was an exchange of gunfire with police that injured a state trooper” (AJC). The trooper, who won’t be named, was brought to a hospital for surgery and is apparently in stable condition.
Protesters shouted “No justice, no killer cops, no peace,” and “Stop cop city,” which is a reference to the name of the Atlanta police academy, prior to the rioting.
The AJC reported that the protesters also yelled “end police terror, release the activists, and drop the charges,” in reference to the fact that at least seven other persons had been detained and charged with domestic terrorism in connection with the law enforcement operation on Wednesday in the southern DeKalb woods.
In response to the city’s plans to “construct a training center for police and firefighters within many acres of forested land in DeKalb County,” one individual attempted to yell, “If they build it, we will burn it.”
After the protest grew violent, businesses were broken into and a police cruiser was set on fire. Numerous reports of property destruction along Peachtree Street prompted police responses. The glass doors of the Atlanta Police Foundation were also broken into.
“At this point, several arrests have already been made, and the downtown area is now in a state of order.” According to the Atlanta Police Dept., “This is still an ongoing and active investigation, and we won’t be able to share specifics on the number of arrests and property damaged, at this time.”
At a police briefing, Mayor Andre Dickens added, “Order has been swiftly restored thanks to the rapid action of our public safety officials working together.”
“The right to peaceful protest is something that the city of Atlanta and the Atlanta Police Dept. continues to defend. We won’t put up with any violence or destruction of property,” he continued.
