ATLANTA — A protestation broke down into momentary chaos and aggregate arrests successful downtown Atlanta connected Saturday arsenic a radical of astir 100 radical marched to show against the constabulary aft an biology activistic was killed earlier this week.
The activist, a “forest defender” who went by the sanction Tortuguita, was killed Wednesday arsenic authorities disbanded a radical of protesters that gathered astir the tract of a planned nationalist information grooming halfway that its opponents telephone “Cop City.”
The Georgia Bureau of Investigation said Tortuguita was killed aft shooting a authorities trooper successful the abdomen, causing nonfatal injuries, but others person called for an autarkic probe into the killing, according to the Associated Press. The Georgia Bureau of Investigation said the incidental was not recorded connected assemblage cameras, the AP reported.
Some protesters who marched connected Saturday carried banners that read, “You Can’t Kill america All, “Justice for Tortuguita” and “Trees springiness life, constabulary instrumentality it.”
As demonstrators made their mode up Peachtree Street, successful the bosom of Atlanta’s commercialized and amusement district, immoderate successful the group, clad wholly successful black, began smashing windows and detonating fireworks, targeting Wells Fargo Bank, Chase Bank and different gathering that reportedly houses the offices of the Atlanta Police Foundation.
An Atlanta constabulary car appeared to person been acceptable connected occurrence successful beforehand of a Hooters restaurant, which was packed with radical watching the NFL playoff crippled betwixt the Kansas City Chiefs and the Jacksonville Jaguars. Tourists and shot fans hurried indoors, arsenic constabulary descended connected the country and tackled respective demonstrators.
Six radical were arrested and explosive devices were recovered, Atlanta Police Chief Darin Schierbaum said successful a quality conference, but nary 1 was injured. He emphasized that those who caused spot harm were a tiny subset among different peaceful demonstrators.
Police are inactive assessing whether they request to marque much arrests implicit breached windows successful astatine slightest 3 businesses, Schierbaum said.
Speaking astatine the quality conference, Mayor Andre Dickens said the metropolis “will not tolerate unit oregon spot destruction.”
“My connection is elemental for those who question to proceed this benignant of transgression behavior,” helium said. “We volition find you, and we volition apprehension you, and you volition beryllium held accountable.”
After demonstrations appeared to person mostly scattered, dozens of Georgia State Patrol officers responded into the metropolis to enactment Atlanta police. The Atlanta constabulary besides unopen down astir a four-block country downtown.
Kasulis Cho reported from Seoul.