Far-left Antifa rioters on Saturday rampaged through downtown Atlanta, smashing storefront windows and torching a police cruiser.
Several agitators were armed with explosive devices, which they used to destroy an Atlanta Police Department vehicle, according to police chief Darin Schierbaum. The anti-police rioters also damaged three businesses and threw rocks and fireworks at the Atlanta Police Foundation building.
Police arrested six rioters, several of whom came from out of state, according to Mayor Andre Dickens.
BREAKING: #COPCITY protesters throw rocks at Atlanta Police Foundation building in downtown Atlanta. They also set off fireworks and spray painted the building. #ATL #BREAKING #NOW @FOX5Atlanta pic.twitter.com/BwF5CzNgIm
— Billy Heath III (@BillyHeathFOX5) January 21, 2023
The chaos broke out after the far-left group Scenes from the Atlanta Forest called for a "Night of Rage" to carry out "reciprocal violence" against police. The group's members objected to the killing of Manuel Esteban Paez Teran, who on Wednesday shot a Georgia State Patrol trooper at the site of a new police training facility. Law enforcement returned fire, killing the 26-year-old assailant.
The violence in Atlanta comes two and half years after Antifa rioters helped lead violent uprisings in cities across the country, causing up to $2 billion in property damage.
Georgia Republican governor Brian Kemp condemned Saturday's violence, saying the crimes "will not be tolerated in Georgia and will be prosecuted fully."
Democrats and the media have long defended Antifa. During a 2020 presidential debate, President Joe Biden dismissed concerns about the far-left anarchist movement, calling Antifa "an idea, not an organization, not militias." Journalists have compared black-clad Antifa rioters to U.S. soldiers who stormed the beaches of Normandy during World War II.
"Friend points out on D-Day anniversary that the men who stormed the beaches of Normandy were the true and original antifa," tweeted Washington Post media reporter Paul Farhi in June 2020.