State of emergency declared over Atlanta ‘Cop City’ protest

By R.J. RICO and JEFF AMY
Associated Press

ATLANTA (AP) — Gov. Brian Kemp has declared a state of emergency, giving him the option of calling in the Georgia National Guard to help “subdue riot and unlawful assembly.” The declaration lets the Republican governor call up to 1,000 Guard members over the next 15 days. A Kemp spokesperson says there has been no mobilization so far and the order is a precautionary measure that gives the governor the ability to act if necessary. Thursday’s declaration is in response to a violent protest Saturday night in downtown Atlanta over the fatal shooting by authorities of an environmental activist said to have shot a state trooper. Protesters set a police cruiser on fire and threw rocks at a skyscraper that houses the Atlanta Police Foundation.