Police have charged 23 Antifa activists from as far away as France and Canada with domestic terrorism after violent riots at a police training facility in Atlanta.
Atlanta Police Department released details of the suspects after officers were attacked with fireworks and Molotov cocktails at the construction site for the facility, dubbed ‘Cop City’ by protesters.
The individuals, mostly men and women from outside of Georgia, are each charged with domestic terrorism.
A statement from Atlanta PD said: ‘On March 5, 2023, a 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.
‘They changed into black clothing and entered the construction area and began to throw large rocks, bricks, Molotov cocktails, and fireworks at police officers.
The 23 Antifa ‘terrorists’ who were arrested after violent clashes at the construction site for a police training facility in Atlanta dubbed ‘Cop City’
Atlanta Police Foundation President and CEO Dave Wilkinson surveys the damage at the site of the proposed Atlanta Public Safety Training facility following vandalism by protestors in Atlanta, Georgia, U.S., March 6, 2023
The aftermath of the ‘Cop City’ protests on March 6. 23 people have been charged with domestic terrorism
‘The agitators 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.’
Police said 35 ‘agitators’ were detained. It wasn’t immediately clear whether the remaining 12 also face charges.
The individuals who were charged are:
- Jack Beaman, 22, of Georgia
- Ayla King, 18, of Massachusetts
- Kamryn Pipes, 27, of Louisiana
- Maggie Gates, 25, of Indiana
- Ehret Nottingham, 22, of Colorado
- Alexis Paplai, 48, of Massachusetts
- Timothy Bilodeau, 25, of Massachusetts
- Victor Puertas, 46, of Utah
- Dimitri LeNy, 25, of France
- Amin Chaoui, 31, of Virginia
- James Marsicano, 29, of North Carolina
- Samuel Ward, 26, of Arizona
- Max Biederman, 25, of Arizona
- Mattia Luini, 30, of New York
- Emma Bogush, 24, of Connecticut
- Kayley Meissner, 19, of Wisconsin
- Luke Harper, 27, of Florida
- Grace Martin, 22, of Wisconsin
- Colin Dorsey, 42, of Maine
- Fredrique Robert-Paul, 34, of Canada
- Zoe Larmey, 25, of Tennessee
- Thomas Jurgens, 28, of Georgia
- Priscilla Grim, 49, of New York
Police added: ‘The illegal actions of the agitators could have resulted in bodily harm. Officers exercised restraint and used non-lethal enforcement to conduct arrests.
‘With protests planned for the coming days, the Atlanta Police Department, in collaboration with law enforcement partners, have a multi-layered strategy that includes reaction and arrest.
‘The Atlanta Police Department asks for this week’s protests to remain peaceful.’
Atlanta Police Foundation President and CEO Dave Wilkinson visited the scene on Monday to survey the damage.
Dramatic footage released by the Atlanta Police Department on Sunday night showed nearly 150 masked rioters break into the construction site and aim fireworks at police.
Some of the group could later be seen gathering riot shields. Once they were together, they started throwing Molotov cocktails at a construction vehicle and ran away as it was left on fire. Other videos posted online showed a police surveillance tower on fire, sending smoke billowing into the sky.
The dramatic confrontation between police and protesters comes as individuals and activist organizations descend on the proposed site for a ‘week of action’ to protest its development.
‘This is the first week of action since the state killed someone,’ Marlon Kautz, an organizer with Atlanta Solidarity Fund told The Guardian, referring to the police-involved killing of Manuel Paez Teran in January.
The burned out shell of a construction vehicle after the violent riots at Atlanta’s ‘Cop City’
Protesters have been camped in forests around the construction site and launching regular efforts to halt the project
A picture of the aftermath after violent clashes between rioters and police on Sunday, March 6
Atlanta Police Foundation President and CEO Dave Wilkinson surveys the damage
A private autopsy showed he was shot 13 times.
Authorities have asserted Teran — who identified as nonbinary — opened fire at a Georgia State Patrol trooper during a ‘clearing operation’ of the so-called autonomous zone at the site of the $90million project.
Demonstrators, who have set up a group called ‘Stop Cop City’, say the 381 acres of Weelaunee Forest is ‘stolen Muscogee land’ and that the creation would mean the destruction of wildlife and forestry.
They have become increasingly violent since they first descended on the woods last spring, with 19 people arrested on domestic terrorism charges since December.Stop Cop City activists also say that the City of Atlanta has ‘leased’ the land – something the Mayor’s office has denied, saying that the City in unincorporated DeKalb County owns it.
