At least 35 people were arrested after a protest against a new police training facility in Atlanta turned violent, with assailants throwing Molotov cocktails and bricks at officers, US police said.
According to police, “violent agitators” launched a coordinated attack late Sunday against officers and burned construction equipment at the site of the facility nicknamed by opponents as “Cop City.”
The center, being built on 85 acres (34 hectares) of forested land in DeKalb County, has been a target of fierce opposition since officials unveiled their proposal in 2021, with tensions over the plans steadily rising.
“This wasn’t about a public safety training center, this was about anarchy, and this was about the attempt to destabilize,” Atlanta police chief Darin Schierbaum said during a late-night press conference.
Security video from a facility entry point showed people dressed in black gathering behind a fence and throwing rocks and explosive devices toward police who were struggling to lock the gate.
Schierbaum said the department was fortunate that no officers were hurt in the incident.
“When you throw commercial-grade fireworks, when you throw Molotov cocktails… at officers, your only intent is to harm,” he said.
“This is not a protest. This is criminal activity.”
Police in Atlanta, the state capital of Georgia, said in a statement “the agitators destroyed multiple pieces of construction equipment by fire and vandalism.”
More protests were expected this week.
The facility has been the focus of multiple protests by opponents who fear environmental damage and also say the center would worsen relations between police and communities of color.
In January a protester was killed in an apparent exchange of gunfire with police, and an officer was seriously injured, according to the Georgia Bureau of Investigation.
Several arrests were made last year, encampments set up near the site were raided by police and removed, and some protesters were arrested on “domestic terrorism” charges for throwing rocks and bottles at police cruisers.
