Warrant: 'Cop city' protestors shot fireworks at building, face riot charges
May 16—Several people arrested in the vandalism Thursday of the Cumberland offices of contractor Brasfield & Gorrie are now facing riot charges, according to their arrest warrants.
Police responded to the building at 2999 Circle 75 Parkway after a group of activists protested the firm's alleged involvement in the construction of "cop city," the name given to the controversial police training complex in southeast Atlanta. The contingent allegedly spray-painted "no forest no peace," "trees not cops" and, "stop cop city" on the building's walls.
The Atlanta City Council voted last year to lease forested property in the city's southeast, where the Atlanta Prison Farm once sat, for the construction of a new, 85-acre police training facility. The project's driver — the Atlanta Police Foundation — argued the facility was needed to replace an aging training ground and tamp down crime, though construction is expected to take several years.
The proposal became a flashpoint for activists and community members who argued "cop city" would destroy a vast swath of urban forest.
Tracey Sibley, vice president of marketing at Brasfield & Gorrie, confirmed Thursday Brasfield and Gorrie is working with the Atlanta Police Foundation to build the new public safety training center.
Cobb police initially said at least two people were arrested during the vandalism, but arrest warrants for at least five individuals were located by the MDJ.
A warrant for Tyler John Norman, for example, accuses the group of shooting roman candles at the building's lawn, causing grass to catch on fire. The protestors are also accused of breaking three windows on the building with "paint bombs." The incident was said to have been captured on surveillance video.
The warrant states Norman was carrying pamphlets linked to the activist movement along with roman candle wrappers and a bandana.
Other individuals arrested on similar charges, according to the warrants, were Katie Marie Kloth, Hannah Margaret Kass, Joseph William Turner and Julian Adan Goldberg (their names were not located in Cobb jail records). They face a range of charges including rioting, making terroristic threats and criminal property damage.
