DEKALB COUNTY, Ga. — On Wednesday night, a small fire started on a rooftop ledge of DeKalb County Jail after people inside threw flaming objects out of broken windows.
Multiple windows from inmate cells were broken.
Outside, a crowd cheered and chanted “Stop Cop City.”
At one point, someone used a projection device to display the words “Stop Cop City” on the side of the detention center.
They were there in support of those arrested after protests turned destructive and, at times, violent this year.
Groups called Stop Cop City and Defend Atlanta Forest have expressed opposition against Atlanta’s plan to build a police and fire training facility on 85 acres of land in DeKalb County.
Jennifer Hyman is a criminal defense attorney for several of those arrested and charged with domestic terrorism and denied bond.
She said prosecutors have not given evidence any of those people charged were part of the destruction.
“We don’t have any proof that our clients have done that and the state hasn’t really come forward with any evidence what so ever to point the blame at any specific individual, whether it’s my client or anyone else’s client,” said Hyman.
Then, Sunday, the group accused police of raiding their music festival, which was not far from the site of the training center.
Tensions have been high since Georgia state troopers shot and killed a protester at the site. According to the Georgia Bureau of Investigation, Manuel Teran, 26, was shot and killed after firing a handgun at a trooper attempting to clear protesters out of the forest.
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