6 arrested after violent protesters cause mayhem, set APD car on fire in downtown Atlanta - WSB Atlanta

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ATLANTA — A peaceful protestation successful downtown Atlanta turned convulsive Saturday evening erstwhile protesters acceptable a constabulary car connected occurrence and started smashing windows.

Six protesters were arrested, Atlanta Police Chief Darin Schierbaum announced successful a quality league connected Saturday night. Those radical person not been identified and their charges person not been released.

Atlanta Mayor Andre Dickens said respective of those who were arrested bash not unrecorded successful the Atlanta country oregon successful Georgia.

Hundreds of protesters, who are opposed to the operation of an APD grooming center, gathered astatine Underground Atlanta earlier moving down Peachtree St. successful the bosom of downtown Atlanta.

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Chief Schierbaum said a radical of the protesters dressed successful each achromatic past began peacefully marching down Peachtree St. When they got to the intersection of Ellis Street, immoderate of the protesters began breaking windows and attacking APD patrol cars. One of the APD cruisers was acceptable connected fire.

Within 2 blocks, Atlanta constabulary officers connected the country had stopped the unit from spreading further into downtown. Chief Schierbaum said the group’s volition was to proceed causing damage.

Three businesses, including a Wells Fargo bank, were damaged, Schierbaum said.

No officers oregon citizens were injured.

Spokespeople with “Stop Cop City,” who person claimed respective times that they are peaceful protesters, released a connection saying they are not backing down and bash not judge their actions connected Saturday nighttime are violent.

“Destruction of worldly is fundamentally antithetic from violence. All reported acts look to beryllium explicitly targeted against the fiscal backers & goons of the Atlanta Police Foundation, a shady nonprofit that funnels weapons and subject cogwheel into our metropolis to wage warfare connected achromatic and brownish folks. The constabulary person raided the wood for implicit 7 months, destroying worldly by trashing camps and h2o supplies, threatened the lives of wood defenders and present person murdered one. Protestors are lone leveling the playing tract & preventing aboriginal unit by disabling the economical instrumentality of the Atlanta Police Foundation that seeks to sterilize each beingness wrong the Weelaunee Forest.”

They aboriginal released an amended connection that read:

“What is the due absorption to constabulary sidesplitting Manuel ‘Tortuguita’ Esteban Paez Teran? Destruction of worldly is fundamentally antithetic from the unit that led to extinguishing someone’s light. We are seeing what we person seen crossed the country, a assemblage successful grief seeking accountability against the fiscal backers and goons of the Atlanta Police Foundation, a shady nonprofit that funnels weapons and subject cogwheel into our metropolis to wage warfare connected Black, Indigenous, Brown and mediocre folks successful the community. The constabulary person evoked unit erstwhile they raided the wood for implicit 7 months, destroying worldly by trashing camps and h2o supplies and threatening the lives of wood defenders. It seems the assemblage is trying to disable the economical instrumentality of the Atlanta Police Foundation that seeks to sterilize each beingness wrong the Weelaunee Forest to support the assemblage they emotion from further violence.“

Mike Register, the Director of the GBI, said the protesters are not peaceful, but were convulsive connected galore occasions.

“Arson, attacking citizens, shooting constabulary officers, utilizing explosives,” Register said astatine a quality league Wednesday.

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Earlier this week, Georgia State Patrol and different agencies were astatine the tract of the projected installation clearing protesters who had been camped retired successful the wood for months.

The Georgia Bureau of Investigation says 1 of the protesters, Manuel Teran, changeable a authorities trooper and was past killed by instrumentality fire.

Friends of Teran, who went by the nickname “Tortuguita,” person repeatedly claimed since the shooting that they are peaceful protesters.

Seven chap protesters were arrested connected Wednesday and charged with home coercion and transgression trespass.

The governor’s bureau released a connection saying they volition not tolerate immoderate unlawful crimes successful the sanction of peaceful protest.

The politician remains good informed of the concern done regular updates from authorities instrumentality enforcement and is actively monitoring the situation. State patrol is good equipped to respond to immoderate and each threats to nationalist information and is coordinating intimately with different authorities agencies and section PD.

While the authorities continues to respect peaceful protest, acts of unit against idiosyncratic oregon spot volition NOT beryllium tolerated. Those committing specified unlawful acts volition beryllium arrested and prosecuted fully.

A abbreviated clip later, Governor Brian Kemp himself tweeted a statement.

Violence and unlawful demolition of spot are not acts of protest. They are crimes that volition not beryllium tolerated successful Georgia and volition beryllium prosecuted fully.

Thank you to the hardworking @ga_dps, @GBI_GA, @Atlanta_Police, and others actively keeping our streets harmless tonight.

— Governor Brian P. Kemp (@GovKemp) January 22, 2023

Georgia Attorney General Chris Carr tweeted calling those progressive “rioters.” Carr told Channel 2′s Mark Winne earlier this week helium is moving connected a sweeping indictment to complaint these protesters with home terrorism.

Atlanta constabulary released the pursuing connection to Channel 2 Action News:

“The Atlanta Police Department is alert of the ongoing events, and we volition proceed to show them and code accordingly. We basal acceptable to respond to demonstrations to guarantee the information of those successful our communities and those exercising their archetypal amendment right, oregon to code amerciable activity, should the request arise.”

At 6:45 p.m., Atlanta constabulary released an update saying:

“Atlanta Police person responded to a radical damaging spot astatine respective locations on Peachtree St. Several arrests person been made astatine this clip and bid has been restored to the downtown space. This is inactive an progressive and ongoing probe and we volition not beryllium capable to supply specifics connected arrests numbers oregon damaged property, astatine this time.”

Chief Schierbaum said the FBI, GBI, ATF and Georgia Attorney General’s Office are assisting them successful their investigation.

Channel 2 Action News is moving to get further information.

APD car acceptable connected occurrence during convulsive protestation successful downtown Atlanta (WSB-TV Viewer)

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Watch the afloat quality league with Atlanta Mayor Andre Dickens and Atlanta Police Chief Darin Schierbaum here.