After the death of an environmental activist who was assassinated by authorities this week, a demonstration got violent in downtown Atlanta on Saturday night.
Large glass windows were shattered by black-clad, masked protestors who tossed rocks and set off fireworkd in front of the skyscraper housing the Atlanta Police Foundation. They then set fire to a police cruiser, smashed other windows, and defaced walls with anti-police graffiti as visitors scattered in shock, USA Today reported.
Activist Tortuguita's Death Sparks Protest in Atlanta
Hundreds of people had assembled and marched up Atlanta's renowned Peachtree Street to grieve the loss of the protester, a nonbinary person who went by the name Tortuguita and utilized their pronouns.
Tortuguita, 26 years old, was slain on Wednesday after officials evicted a small group of demonstrators from the site of a planned public safety training center in the Atlanta area that activists have called Cop City.
The Georgia Bureau of Investigation has stated that Tortuguita was killed by authorities after shooting and wounding a state trooper, but protestors have called it a murder and demanded an independent investigation, throwing the official account into question.
Body cams did not film the encounter. The agency determined on Friday that the trooper was wounded in the abdomen by a bullet from a weapon owned by Tortuguita. Social media and left-leaning activists had actively disseminated information about the rally on Saturday. Some distributed fliers with the inscription, "Police killed a protester. Rise. Counterattack.
During a news conference, Atlanta Police Chief Darin Schierbaum stated that six arrests were made and explosive devices were seized after protesters damaged property along Peachtree Street, a corridor of hotels and restaurants. According to him, law enforcement stopped the fighting within two blocks, and no civilians or officers were hurt.
Francis Carroll, an Antifa activist who was out on bail for domestic terrorism and purportedly the son of a multimillionaire Maine family, was identified as one of the arrested suspects by journalist Andy Ngo.
'Stop Cop City' demonstrators lamented the passing of Manuel Esteban Paez Terán, alias Tortuguita, an environmental activist who fought the construction of the training center in a forested area. They demanded Justice for Tort on social media before Saturday's demonstration. He participated in their Defend the Forest movement, which opposed the felling of trees to fund the $90 million project.
Saturday evening, demonstrators dressed in all black marched down Peachtree Street in downtown Atlanta. When they approached the Ellis Street crossroads, several protests began, shattering the windows of local businesses and attacking police cars, setting one ablaze, as per The Washington Examiner.
Saturday night, a spokeswoman for Stop Cop City issued multiple remarks to the Atlanta television station WSB-TV, stating that the group's activities were non-violent and justified.
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Controversial 'Cop City'
Social media and leftist activists had widely disseminated information about Saturday's rally, with some passing out flyers that stated, "Police killed a protester. Stand up. Fight back."
During a news conference, Atlanta Police Chief Darin Schierbaum stated that six arrests were made and explosive devices were seized after protesters damaged property along Peachtree Street, a corridor of hotels and restaurants.
According to him, law enforcement stopped the fighting within two blocks, and no civilians or officers were hurt. Governor Brian Kemp of Georgia condemned the violence and commended the responding officers.
Per PBS, a few activists recounted their memories of Tortuguita, characterizing them as highly compassionate and caring members of the "Stop Cop City" group during the first hour of the nonviolent rally. Tortuguita, according to the speakers, completed a 20-hour course to serve as a physician for fellow "forest defenders" who had made their home in the DeKalb County forests just outside of Atlanta.
For over a year, opponents of the training center have protested by erecting platforms in adjacent trees and camping at the site. They claim that the Atlanta Police Foundation's $90 million project, which would necessitate the planting of a large number of trees, would be environmentally detrimental.
They are also opposed to spending so much money on a facility that they claim will be used for "urban warfare" training. During Wednesday's operation, some 25 tents were identified and confiscated, as well as mortar-style fireworks, edged weapons, pellet rifles, gas masks, and a blow torch.
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