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Atlanta Police Attack: According to Atlanta police, around thirty individuals have been apprehended for throwing flaming bottles and rocks at law enforcement officers during a demonstration at "Cop City," a newly established police training facility in DeKalb County that was previously the site of protests and the death of a protester.

At a midnight press conference on Monday, Atlanta Police Chief Darin Schierbaum reported that several items of construction equipment had been set alight on Sunday in what he described as a "coordinated attack" on the Atlanta Public Safety Training Center.

This incident marks the latest outburst in a movement that has attracted both anti-police protestors and environmentalists who refer to themselves as "forest defenders" to Georgia.

Police have released surveillance footage showing a large piece of machinery engulfed in flames at the "Cop City" construction site, where several pieces of equipment were destroyed during the attack, according to law enforcement officials.

On Sunday, protesters clad in black attire hurled big rocks, bricks, Molotov cocktails, and fireworks at police officers at the construction site, as per police reports.

FBI joined forces and used nonlethal measures

Schierbaum stated that police from neighboring communities offered their assistance to the city's officers, and no officers sustained injuries. He added that the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) has joined forces with the police in the investigation. The police employed nonlethal measures to disband the gathering and apprehend the individuals involved. When asked about any injuries suffered by the protestors, the chief stated that "minor discomforts" were reported and were being addressed by medical personnel.

“This was a very violent attack, very violent attack,” Schierbaum said. “This wasn’t about a public safety training center. This was about anarchy ... and we are addressing that quickly.”

Governor Brian Kemp of Georgia stated that those involved in the incident "opted for destruction and vandalism rather than engaging in a lawful protest, further demonstrating the radical nature of their actions."

“As I’ve said before, domestic terrorism will NOT be tolerated in this state,” Kemp said in a statement Monday.

“We will not rest until those who use violence and intimidation for an extremist end are brought to full justice,” he said.

People Involved in the Atlanta Police Attack Face Criminal Charges

As per The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, the identities of those in custody and the specific criminal charges against them were not available on Monday morning. However, Schierbaum stated that a significant number of the detainees were not from the Atlanta region.

“I can tell you just looking at the initial reports, we continue to see a number of individuals not from Atlanta, Georgia that are present tonight undertaking criminal activities to destabilize the construction of the fire and police training center,” Schierbaum said.

in January 2023, a 26-year-old environmental activist was shot and killed by law enforcement officers in the forest where the training center is being built. This incident has led to demonstrations against the construction of the center, including the recent protest that turned violent.

On January 21, 2023, a police cruiser was set on fire, and rocks and fireworks were thrown at a skyscraper that houses the Atlanta Police Foundation, resulting in shattered windows.

The Atlanta City Council had approved the construction of the Atlanta Public Safety Training Center in 2021. The $90 million center is intended to replace substandard facilities and boost police morale, which has been affected by hiring and retention struggles in the aftermath of protests against racial injustice following George Floyd's death in 2020.

The protests at the Atlanta Public Safety Training Center are leading to proposals for tougher criminal penalties, but it does not provide further details on what those proposals might entail.