Protest Over Death Of Activist At 'Cop City' Turns Violent In Atlanta

ATLANTA, GA — Demonstrators angry over the killing of an environmental activist accused of shooting a Georgia State Patrol trooper set a police car on fire and damaged businesses as part of ongoing protests against the building of the Atlanta Public Safety Training Center, also known as "Cop City," according to authorities and news reports.

Six people were arrested Saturday in downtown Atlanta in what police say was a violent protest.

Masked activists dressed in all black threw rocks and lit fireworks in front of a skyscraper that houses the Atlanta Police Foundation, shattering large glass windows. They then lit a police cruiser on fire, smashed more windows and vandalized walls with anti-police graffiti as stunned tourists scattered.

The violent protesters were a subsection of hundreds of demonstrators who had gathered and marched up Atlanta's famed Peachtree Street to mourn the death of the protester, a nonbinary person who went by the name Tortuguita and used they/it pronouns.

The protest began around 5 p.m. near Underground Atlanta and Peachtree Street before heading north toward Ellis Street. Violence erupted near Ellis Street, Atlanta Police Chief Darin Schierbaum said at a news conference.

Though Schierbaum said a police car was set on fire, he confirmed there were no injuries to law enforcement officers or Atlanta residents.

Windows to businesses were broken and police cruisers were attacked, he said. The group of protesters are accused of having explosives on them. Three businesses were damaged in the attack, police said.

"The attempt was to continue to do harm and that did not happen," Schierbaum said.

Of the six people arrested, one was a 20-year-old Decatur resident. The other five people arrested were from Nevada, Maine, Michigan, Washington and Tennessee, police said.

They were all charged on suspicion of first degree arson, second degree criminal damage to property, domestic terrorism, interference with government property and four misdemeanors, police said.

"The City of Atlanta and the Atlanta Police Department will continue to protect the right to peaceful protest," Atlanta Mayor Andre Dickens said. "We will not tolerate violence or property destruction."

The downtown protest came days after the shooting of a Georgia State Patrol trooper and the killing of the person suspected of shooting the trooper in a Jan. 18 protest against the construction of the Atlanta Public Safety Training Center near Constitution Road in East Atlanta.

The GBI said a Smith and Wesson M&P Shield 9-millimeter was used in the shooting. The GBI said forensics show the bullet recovered from the trooper's wound matches the handgun.

As a result of that protest, seven people were arrested on suspicion of domestic terrorism and criminal trespass and other charges. They were all from out of state, police said.

Authorities removed 25 campsites from the site and said they also removed explosives and weapons, the GBI said at the time.

The trooper was taken to the intensive care unit following surgery.

Protests have been ongoing at the training center for several months with protesters attempting to protect the forest on the land.

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 say 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. They also oppose spending so much money on a facility they say will be used to practice “urban warfare.”

According to the Atlanta Police Foundation, part of the purpose for the center is to promote morale and retention, as well as embrace police reform and cultural sensitivity.

The initial phase of the training center is expected to open in the fourth quarter this year.

The Associated Press contributed reporting and writing.