January 1, Georgia Governor Declares State of Emergency Amid Violent Protests

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2002: U.S. President George W. Bush in his State of the Union address describes “regimes that sponsor terror” an “Axis of Evil,” which includes Iraq, Iran, and North Korea.

Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp has declared a state of emergency and deployed 1,000 National Guard troops amid violent protests in Atlanta.

The state of emergency is in place until Feb. 9, unless renewed by the governor, according to the order.

Demonstrators have been protesting near the proposed site of an Atlanta police training facility — which they nicknamed “Cop City” — for months, per CBS News. But things took a turn during a deadly clash at the site last week, when Georgia law enforcement attempted to clear out the demonstrators, who had been camped out for months.

On Jan. 18, a protester shot and wounded a Georgia state trooper. The officer, who was wearing a bulletproof vest, was hit in the stomach above the pelvic area, officials said. Police returned fire and killed the alleged shooter, identified as 26-year-old Manuel Esteban Paez Teran, police said.

Three days later, protesters set a police car ablaze and smashed windows out of several businesses. Six people were arrested — some of whom were found with explosives, Atlanta Mayor Andre Dickens said. No injuries were reported.

“Masked activists threw rocks, launched fireworks and burned a police vehicle in front of the Atlanta Police Foundation office building,” the declaration read. “Georgians respect peaceful protests, but do not tolerate acts of violence against persons or property.” 

The state of emergency declaration “grants the Governor the authority to empower the Georgia National Guard to subdue riot and unlawful assembly.” The National Guard troops will have “the same powers of arrest and apprehension as do law enforcement officers.”

Source: CBS News