(TheRedAlertNews.com) – Thugs from the far-left extremist group Antifa staged a riot in Atlanta, Georgia, on Saturday night, breaking store windows downtown and setting a police car on fire.
The riot started as a “mostly peaceful” protest after the death of Manuel Teran, a 26-year-old far-left activist shot and killed after police officers returned fire during a sweep of an area occupied by Antifa.
According to the Georgia Bureau of Investigation, Teran got shot in “an exchange of gunfire with police that wounded a state trooper,” The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported, as cited by Breitbart News.
The incident occurred last Wednesday in the southern DeKalb County woods, the so-called “cop city,” an area slated to construct a police training center. The site has been occupied by Antifa, which has tried to turn it into a no-go zone.
A state trooper shot and wounded by the Antifa occupiers underwent surgery and remained stable.
Saturday night’s Antifa riot in Atlanta began as a demonstration with slogans such as “No justice, no peace, no killer police,” “Stop cop city,” and “Stop police terror.”
The rioters also demanded that the police “free the activists” and “drop the charges” after at least seven Antifa occupiers were caught during the sweep. They have been charged with domestic terrorism.
“If they build it, we will burn it,” chanted some protestors about Atlanta’s plans for its future police and firefighting training center in DeKalb County.
Later on Saturday evening, the far-left protest in downtown Atlanta became violent as numerous businesses along Peachtree Street were invaded, with the rioters smashing the glass doors of The Atlanta Police Foundation.
“Several arrests have been made at this time, and order has been restored to the downtown space. This is still an active and ongoing investigation and we will not be able to provide specifics on arrest numbers or property damaged at this time,” the Atlanta Police Department told reporters.
“Thanks for the quick action of our public safety officials working together, order has been restored in a swift manner,” Atlanta’s Mayor Andre Dickens said during the same press conference.
“The city of Atlanta and the Atlanta Police Department will not, will not tolerate this and we continue to protect the right to peacefully protest. We will not tolerate violence or property destruction,” he added.
Meanwhile, in a Newsmax interview, Republican US Rep. Byron Donalds of Florida slammed Democrat-run cities nationwide for being too lenient to riots.
“The riots themselves are obviously something nobody wants to see in any part of the country. What we’ve noticed, unfortunately, is the lack of seriousness that that too many cities have taken with law enforcement has led to these outbreaks because the consequences have been essentially eradicated or significantly reduced,” Donalds commented.
“People understand that if there is no measure to hold people accountable, so you’re going to see things like this, and it’s unfortunate. We have to make sure that the law is followed and that crime is prosecuted,” he added.
Far-left protesters rioted in downtown Atlanta on Saturday evening, lighting a police car on fire and breaking business windows. https://t.co/kZpIcxmKiA
— Breitbart News (@BreitbartNews) January 22, 2023
