ATLANTA — A planned peaceful protest in Atlanta Saturday night turned violent and resulted in the burning of a police cruiser and breaking the windows of three buildings.
Six people were arrested during the protest, which police say started out at Underground Atlanta as a peaceful protest, but turned violent when a group within the protest began damaging property.
The group was protesting the police killing of a man who was protesting on the site of the new training center for the Atlanta Police Department.
Police say they found explosives and believe the group intended to do more harm, but police quickly gained control of the situation.
Atlanta Mayor Andre Dickens said violence and property damage within the city would not be tolerated and then pointed out that many of the protesters were not local.
“Many of them don’t even live in Atlanta or in the state of Georgia and they don’t represent the voices of Atlanta,” Dickens said.
Atlanta Police Chief Darin Schierbaum said the police department was prepared tonight and didn’t mince words about what happened.
“Breaking windows and setting cars on fire is not a protest, it is terrorism,” Schierbaum said.A
Below is a video of a news conference about the incident.
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