Gov. Kemp says ‘militant activists’ opposing APD training facility will be ‘not be tolerated’

DEKALB COUNTY, Ga. — Governor Brian Kemp is renewing calls for activists protesting an Atlanta Police Department training facility in DeKalb County to be arrested and charged with domestic terrorism.

The training facility, known as cop city, has been the target of protestors and vandals for months.

[DOWNLOAD: Free WSB-TV News app for alerts as news breaks]

The future site of a $90 million, 85-acre facility sits on the largest urban forest in metro Atlanta. Protestors say its presence would be bad for the environment.

Last month, the Georgia Bureau of Investigation arrested five people and charged them with domestic terrorism.

RELATED STORIES:

• Protestors attack firefighters at site of controversial APD training facility, police say
• Sources confirm largescale investigation underway into crimes protesting new training facility
• Protesters arrested after chucking Molotov cocktail at police over planned APD training facility
• Surveillance video shows the moments before @Promise Center fire

Gov. Kemp released a statement on Tuesday saying they will not stop fighting against “militant activists...with no regard for the people or communities impacted by their crimes.”

“Domestic terrorism will NOT be tolerated in our state, and we will not hesitate, we will not rest, we will not waver in ending their activities and prosecuting them to the fullest extent of the law,” his statement read.

[SIGN UP: WSB-TV Daily Headlines Newsletter]

Some of those incidents include:

• Protesters throwing a Molotov cocktail at police officers as they attempted to arrest them for trespassing on the grounds of what will be the new training center.
• A fire at the westside At-Promise Center, which is a crime diversion program geared toward supporting at-risk youth in Atlanta.
• Vandalism of the Cobb County office of a building contractor working on the project, and weeks later vandalism at the Cobb County home of an executive.
• On several occasions, barricades or other material on the construction site set on fire on or near the project site.
• Ball bearings propelled via slingshot at a utility van, causing damage.
• Vandalism of the offices of the parent company of a subcontractor working on the project — located in Florida, Nebraska, Minnesota and New York — which included spray-painted phrases alluding to the Atlanta project.

“The only response we will give to intimidation and violence is swift and exact justice,” the governor said.

IN RELATED NEWS:

Activists respond to fellow protestors being charged with domestic terrorism at APD ‘cop city’

©2022 Cox Media Group