35 Arrested In Fiery Atlanta Police Training Site Riot | JP

A night of fire and violence at the future site of a police training center in Atlanta on Sunday led to the arrests of 35 people, according to authorities.

Police said a group of “violent agitators” wearing all-black “used the cover of a peaceful protest” and conducted a “coordinated attack” at the construction area of the Atlanta Public Safety Training Center, which critics have dubbed “Cop City.”

People threw large rocks as well as Molotov cocktails during the clash, said police, and some construction equipment caught fire.

During a Sunday night press conference, Atlanta Police Chief Darin Schierbaum said most of the people who were detained appear to be from outside of the Atlanta area and will face the appropriate charges.

“This was about anarchy,” Schierbaum said.

The unrest Sunday night marks another crescendo in the clashes with law enforcement by anti-police demonstrators and environmentalists after the $90 million training center was approved by the Atlanta City Council in 2021 and construction began in a forested area.

One 26-year-old activist, identified as Manuel Esteban Paez Teran, was fatally shot by law enforcement in January. Authorities said he had shot and injured a Georgia state trooper, but Paez Teran’s family has demanded further transparency.

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