Some suspects charged with domestic terrorism over Atlanta riots are not from Georgia: Report
'Speak Georgia' co-founder Janelle King joined 'Fox & Friends First' to discuss the suspects arrested in connection with the anti-police riots in Atlanta and Gov. Ron DeSantis' rejection of a 'woke' AP class in Florida classrooms.
Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp’s move to activate 1,000 National Guard troops amid violent protests in Atlanta was met with fierce condemnation by Reddit users, who hurled insults at city and state leadership.
Atlanta police arrested at least six people after a peaceful protest Saturday erupted into a night of chaos and violence that included protesters smashing windows and setting a police vehicle on fire, Mayor Andre Dickens, D., said.
Rioters in Atlanta also set off fireworks and threw rocks at the Atlanta Police Foundation Saturday evening, according to FOX 5 Atlanta.
But the majority of redditors conversing in the r/politics subreddit did not believe the government response was warranted, with some downplaying or outright denying any instances of violence last weekend.
Redditor rldogamusprime calls for the current Atlanta Police Department to be abolished. (Reddit )
"I live in Atlanta and did not know there was any significant protesting until I saw on reddit that a cop car and bank got burned in protest. It’s not that bad," one user said.
ATLANTA ANTI-POLICE RIOTS HURT DOWNTOWN BUSINESSES, WORKERS' WALLETS, EMPLOYEES SAY
"This is just an overreaction meant not only to stop the agitators, but also overkill to throttle the peaceful protests as well," redditor LostNTheNoise chimed in, gathering 910 upvotes.
Redditor OkRoll3915 said that if the Georgia government wants fewer protests, then cops should stop "executing folks in the streets."
"GOP, conservatives and local cops who belong to Trump led groups are chomping at the bit here, hoping to send in their usual protagonists to do the dirty work..smash windows of local businesses again.... and fuel the flames yet again..same as it ever was," user sfgreenman wrote.
A significant chunk of the message board also used derogatory language to describe Kemp, R., and the Atlanta Police Department.
"The piece of sh-- who took a thumbs-up photo with a Confederate pedophile? That Georgia governor? Redditor Isocratia said, garnering a massive 1.8K upvotes.
A redditor reacts to a state of emergency issued in Georgia following violent protests in Atlanta after the death of Manuel Estaban Paez Teran. (Reddit)
"Yes, the same one who purposely passed a voting law meant to disenfranchise Atlanta voters and allow him to control (rig) elections," added TuGrad.
ATLANTA DOMESTIC TERRORISM SUSPECTS SEEN SMILING OR STONE-FACED IN ANTI-POLICE RIOT BOOKING PHOTOS
Another user received over 300 upvotes for floating the idea that Kemp secretly wants there to be more violence in the area, or at least some sort of "considerable confrontation" between the National Guard and protesters. They also called the activation of National Guard troops "complete overkill."
Ridogamusprime said the city should take the opportunity to "delete the entire Atlanta PD and get a new one."
"Yeah. Of course there are protests. F---ing acab," another user added; ACAB is a slogan for anti-police dissidents saying "All Cops Are B-----ds."
"The U.S. is being occupied by ab armed wing of the oligarchy, descended from the protectors of capital who hunted chattel humans. I just don't see how this can continue like this," Spiritual-Mechanic-4 wrote.
Redditor Jayfeather31 worried that the unrest in Atlanta, combined with the release of the Tyre Nichols video in Memphis, could exacerbate conflict in the area.
"I am also seriously concerned about what could potentially happen by putting the National Guard out to handle the Stop Cop City protests. If one or two things go wrong, we could see the Georgia National Guard end up causing a massacre with disastrous consequences for the nation's fragile stability," the user said.
TWO ATLANTA RIOT SUSPECTS GRANTED BOND, 4 OTHERS DENIED AFTER DOMESTIC TERRORISM CHARGES
A reddit user slams Georgia Governor Brian Kemp for activating the National Guard following unrest in Georgia, January 26, 2022. (Reddit )
"If the protestors are Black then we know the outcome, also this is Georgia we are talking about so we 100% know what is going to happen," revmaynard1970 added.
Protestors were angry about the death of 26-year-old Manuel Esteban Paez Teran, who was killed by police after he allegedly refused demands from authorities on Wednesday and fired a gun at state troopers at the site of the new Atlanta Public Safety Training Center.
Kemp issued a state of emergency order Thursday ahead of potential protests in Atlanta over the weekend to prevent the unrest and chaos that occurred during last week's riots.
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The order said the state of emergency was declared because of "unlawful assemblage, violence, overt threats of violence, disruption of the peace and tranquility of this state and danger existing to persons and property."
The order expires on Feb. 9.
Fox News’ Louis Casiano and Bradford Betz contributed to this report.
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