ALBAWABA - Twenty-three people face charges of domestic terrorism for involvement in violent confrontations with police in Atlanta, Georgia, CNN reported.
Some 35 people were rounded up following Sunday's protests to voice rejection to the construction of a police training facility in the vicinity on grounds it will militarize the area and harm the environment.
It was not immediately clear if more of the detained activists will be charged or released.
An Atlanta police statement Monday said the protesters hurled "large rocks, bricks, Molotov cocktails, and fireworks at police officers" after they "changed into black clothing (and) entered the construction area."
The demonstrators, who dub the facility the "Cop City," are anxious about potential police militarization of the area and the impact the construction of such a facility would have on woodland at the proposed site. Protesters call the area, an outing to many, the "lungs of Atlanta."
CNN and other news outlets reported that only two of those arrested were from Georgia, while police say the rest hail from places as far as Maine and Arizona.
One person was from Canada and another from France, according to a list provided Monday by the Atlanta Police Department, which said the Georgia Bureau of Investigation would be prosecuting the charges.
ICYMI: Fires broke out at the construction site of an #Atlanta police training center after a demonstration at the property led to clashes between police and protesters and 35 people were arrested, police say.https://t.co/9oAwQjxLTA
— Al Arabiya English (@AlArabiya_Eng) March 6, 2023
The police statement said the group of "violent agitators used the cover of a peaceful protest of the proposed Atlanta Public Safety Training Center to conduct a coordinated attack on construction equipment and police officers."
Atlanta protesters hurl bricks, Molotov cocktails at police at future ‘Cop City’ site https://t.co/gM03frMS5J pic.twitter.com/U7mX5bcQZz
— New York Post (@nypost) March 6, 2023
It said the protesters "destroyed multiple pieces of construction equipment by fire and vandalism."
"Multiple law enforcement agencies deployed to the area and detained several people committing illegal activity," it said, adding that 35 "agitators have been detained so far."
Atlanta police aren’t playing. Here is an Antifa terrorist getting tased after firebombing police. pic.twitter.com/NmS6pIihhh
— @amuse (@amuse) March 6, 2023
"The illegal actions of the agitators could have resulted in bodily harm," the statement warned. It explained that officers "exercised restraint and used non-lethal enforcement to conduct arrests."
The statement cautioned that with protests planned for the coming days, the "Atlanta Police Department, in collaboration with law enforcement partners, has a multi-layered strategy that includes reaction and arrest."
Hundreds of activists breached a forest site being developed into a police and fire training complex in Atlanta. They burned vehicles and a trailer, and set off fireworks at officers stationed nearby. The police said they had detained 35 people so far. https://t.co/Ip23Hgufer
— The New York Times (@nytimes) March 6, 2023
"The Atlanta Police Department asks for this week’s protests to remain peaceful," the statement concluded.
Atlanta Public Safety Training Center Demonstrations. https://t.co/boTaYkaWvn pic.twitter.com/r6u6Ki3mLt
— Atlanta Police Department (@Atlanta_Police) March 6, 2023
