George Floyd protests in Atlanta
The George Floyd protests in Atlanta were a series of protests occurring in Atlanta, the capital and largest city of Georgia, United States. The protests were part of the George Floyd protests and, more broadly, the 2020–2021 United States racial unrest, which began shortly after the murder of George Floyd by police officer Derek Chauvin in Minneapolis on May 25, 2020. On May 26, protesting occurred in the Minneapolis–Saint Paul area and, over the next several weeks, protests spread to cities throughout the United States and then internationally.
In Atlanta, protesting began on May 29, the first Friday following Floyd's murder. The protests primarily centered around Centennial Olympic Park in downtown Atlanta, where several hundred protesters gathered on the first night, though other sites that saw extensive protesting included the Georgia State Capitol, Atlanta City Hall, and the Georgia Governor's Mansion, among other places. On the first day, protesting was primarily peaceful in nature until later in the evening, when the situation became more violent. Protesters and police clashed throughout the night as several buildings and vehicles around the Centennial Olympic Park area were damaged or vandalized. Of particular note, the CNN Center was the site of extensive fighting between police stationed inside the building and protesters outside. During the night, then Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms declared a state of emergency and Georgia Governor Brian Kemp activated the Georgia National Guard; over a thousand troops deployed to Atlanta the next day. The following day, Mayor Bottoms instated a 9 p.m. curfew. The next few days would follow a similar pattern to the first, with protests during the day becoming more intense into the night. Several hundred protesters were arrested during the first several nights of protests, June 5 being the first night since the protests began that no protesters were arrested.
On June 12, a police officer in the city shot and killed Rayshard Brooks outside of a Wendy's downtown, which triggered another large-scale wave of protests. The next day, about a thousand protesters congregated near the site of Brooks' death, and later that evening, the restaurant was burned down. Protesting continued through June, with several large demonstrations occurring on Juneteenth. A definitive end to the protesting is unclear, with one source published in October 2020 mentioning "months of periodic protests" in the city. Additional protests were held in April 2021 following the killing of Daunte Wright and the announcement of the verdict in the trial of Derek Chauvin.
Background
On May 25, 2020, George Floyd, a 46-year-old African American man, was murdered while in police custody in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Part of Floyd's arrest was caught on video by a bystander and later went viral after being uploaded to Facebook. The video showed police officer Derek Chauvin pinning Floyd to the ground with his knee on the back of Floyd's neck while Floyd is heard saying "I can't breathe". The four officers involved in Floyd's arrest were fired the following day.On May 26, thousands of protesters in Minneapolis gathered at both the site of Floyd's arrest and the Minneapolis Police Department's Third Precinct to protest his murder, during which police employed chemical irritants to disperse crowds. By May 27, these George Floyd protests had spread to several more major cities throughout the United States, and the following day, amidst increasing violence with the protests, Minnesota Governor Tim Walz activated the Minnesota National Guard, a move that would later be followed by other state governors.
Timeline
May 2020
May 29
At 8:30 a.m. on May 29, a Friday, police were called to Oakland Cemetery after a maintenance crew reported vandalism to two Confederate memorials in the cemetery: the Lion of the Confederacy and the Confederate Obelisk. The vandalism had occurred at some point during the night.Protests in Atlanta began on the afternoon of May 29, when several hundred people gathered in downtown Atlanta, near Centennial Olympic Park. The protests were not only over the murder of George Floyd, but also the killing of Breonna Taylor and the murder of Ahmaud Arbery, two African Americans who had been killed earlier that year by either police officers or former police officers. Protest organizers planned on meeting at Centennial Olympic Park around 3 p.m. before marching to the Georgia State Capitol and then returning to the park by 5:30 pm, with the march called "Justice for Us". Protesters chanted "No justice, no peace", "I can't breathe", and "Say his name", while a moment of silence was observed at the capitol. At some point, there was a silent demonstration of protesters standing with raised fists. The protest organizers urged participants to observe social distancing guidelines and stressed the nonviolent nature of the march.
While this protesting was initially peaceful, by approximately 6 pm, the situation had become more tense. According to The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, around this time, some protesters began throwing bottles at Atlanta Police Department officers. By 6:25 pm, the APD's SWAT team had arrived at the scene of the protest. At about 6:35 pm, according to reports from the scene, protesters were ordered to disperse or face arrest, though APD Chief Erika Shields told reporters that there was no curfew in place at that time and that protesters could stay in the streets. According to an article from WABE, protesters "stood down police after demands to disperse". Some protesters chanted "Quit your jobs" at the police officers present. Several police vehicles were damaged during the protesting, and one APD car was set on fire. Additionally, three Georgia Tech Police Department vehicles were destroyed, and several rifles stolen from the vehicles. One tank was spotted during the protest.
As the violence escalated, several buildings near Centennial Olympic Park were damaged. A glass door leading into the nearby Omni Hotel was shattered, as were the windows on the College Football Hall of Fame, with people stealing merchandise from the latter. However, the vandalism was limited only to the gift shop and none of the exhibits or artifacts had been damaged. Another target of vandalism was the CNN Center, the headquarters for the international television news channel CNN. Protesters had begun moving towards the entrance of that building, where police officers had congregated, around 6 pm. A large sign of the CNN logo located outside of the headquarters was vandalized with spray paint, with messages written on the sign including "ACAB", "Fuck Trump", "Not one more", and "#LOVE". One protester climbed atop the sign and waved a Black Lives Matter flag, which elicited cheers from other protesters, while another protester burned an American flag. A restaurant near the CNN Center was vandalized. Several CNN employees viewed the protesting from inside the building. One CNN journalist in the building captured footage of a protester breaking a window on the building, while other protesters threw bottles and other projectiles at the building, including smoke grenades. Shortly after 8 pm, the protesters seemingly began shifting their focus from violently taking out any barriers leading into the building, to actually finding a way to enter. While police had been trying to keep protesters out of the building, by 9 pm, the officers had moved to a position inside the building. Police formed a line inside the building's lobby and threw tear gas and shot rubber bullets in an effort to keep the crowd from entering the building. At one point, a firecracker was thrown into the lobby. The standoff between police and protesters in the building was broadcast live on CNN. Eventually, the area was cleared by law enforcement.
As the protests became violent, Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms held a press conference to discuss the protests. Mayor Bottoms was joined by activist Bernice King and rappers Killer Mike and T.I. During the conference, Bottoms decried the violence and urged the protesters to go home. At around 8:30 pm, former Atlanta mayor and U.N. Ambassador Andrew Young was interviewed and said, "I'm thinking I want to cry. This was a good demonstration that went bad". At some point during the protests, Georgia Governor Brian Kemp activated the Georgia National Guard "to protect people & property in Atlanta", with as many as 500 troops becoming active. Governor Kemp stated that he was acting on a request from Mayor Bottoms. In addition, a state of emergency was declared in Fulton County. After this, news channel WXIA-TV reported that the protests moved north, initially along Marietta Street. Through the morning of May 30, police and firefighters responded to calls of vandalism, looting, and arson in Buckhead, which is considered an "upscale" area of the city. In particular, damage to stores was reported around Phipps Plaza, Lindbergh, and along Piedmont Road and Peachtree Road. In one case, firefighters were unable to reach a burning building due to protesting around it. Several Atlanta Fire Rescue Department fire trucks were damaged during the night. Shortly before midnight, the Fulton County Sheriff's Office announced that the entirety of their law enforcement division had been dispatched to the Lenox area. In the aftermath of the first night of protests, the APD stated that three officers had been injured. In addition, 20 APD vehicles were damaged. At least 70 protesters were arrested, with two police buses brought to downtown to help handle arrests. At least one protester had been shot.
May 30
By the morning of May 30, the CNN sign had been cleaned and repainted. Also that morning, professional basketball player and Marietta, Georgia native Jaylen Brown announced his intent to travel to Atlanta to peacefully protest that day. He was joined by fellow National Basketball Association players Malcolm Brogdon and Justin Anderson. Throughout the day, protesters gathered near the CNN Center, as well as several other locations throughout the city, such as at the Georgia Governor's Mansion and the Martin Luther King Jr. National Historical Park. Around 7 pm, Mayor Bottoms issued a citywide curfew for 9 pm, calling it a "very unusual and extreme step". In addition, she urged protesters to get tested for COVID-19. At the same time, Police Chief Shields called some of the destructive acts that had occurred the previous night a "highly calculated terrorist act" and stated, "Quite frankly, I'm just ready to lock people up." That same night, Governor Kemp announced that 3,000 National Guard troops would be deployed throughout the state, which he announced was under a state of emergency. Of these, approximately 1,500 were deployed to Atlanta, where the Lenox Square Mall was used as their staging area. Several shopping malls in the Atlanta metropolitan area closed early in preparation for possible damaging actions from protests. Several arrests would be made at malls in the area.Protesting was more subdued than the previous night. Several minutes before the 9 p.m. curfew, police in downtown Atlanta used tear gas to disperse several hundred protesters, after which they began using plastic handcuffs to arrest curfew violators. Several protesters were arrested before the curfew began. By 11:26 pm, 51 people had been arrested. Additionally, one police vehicle had been damaged, as well as a police precinct and several buildings in downtown Atlanta. Late Saturday night, one police officer was struck by an all-terrain vehicle, with the driver arrested shortly thereafter. By the following morning, 157 people had been arrested.
At one point during the night, two college students in downtown Atlanta were forcibly pulled from their car, stunned, and arrested by police. The incident was captured on video and two of the five officers involved were fired the following day. Mayor Bottoms called the officers' actions "an excessive use of force". Several days later, the police involved in the incident were charged with various crimes associated with their actions, including aggravated assault and criminal damage to property. The following year, the two drivers would sue the city due to the police's actions. Also at some point during the night, Haisten Willis, a reporter covering the protests for The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, was arrested.