Georgia Gov. Declares State of Emergency, Calls Up National Guard Amid “Cop City” Protests

In Georgia, Republican Governor Brian Kemp on Thursday declared a state of emergency in response to mass protests that erupted after the police killing of environmental defender Manuel Tern in Atlanta last week. The declaration gives Kemp the power to deploy up to 1,000 National Guard troops over the next 15 days to quell the mobilizations. Tern, who went by the name Tortuguita, was shot dead by a SWAT team on January 18 as officers violently raided an encampment of protesters opposed to “Cop City,” a proposed $90 million police training facility in a public forest in Atlanta. The Atlanta Community Press Collective tweeted, “The true emergency, however, is that law enforcement agencies across the country are killing people every day. … Kemp’s declaration of a State of Emergency isn’t about property damage at Saturday’s protests at all. It’s about police murdering #TyreNichols and Tortuguita within two weeks of each other. They’re trying to instill fear in anyone who stands up against police brutality.”