ATLANTA — Protesters gathered on several metro college campuses Wednesday to protest the war in Gaza.
But Gov. Brian Kemp has a warning for any protester who breaks the law – they will “have a very bad day,” if they do.
Kemp told Channel 2′s Richard Elliot that he supports suspending students who break the law.
His statements Wednesday were the toughest words we’ve heard from Kemp yet on the campus unrest that has happened over the last week on the Emory University and UGA campuses.
He blamed most of the problems on outside agitators but also warned students not to break the law or face consequences.
“Those kinds of people, if they break the law, if they spit in officers’ faces like we’ve seen, they’re going to have a pretty bad day, and they will be put in jail,” Kemp said.
Kemp spoke to Elliot just minutes after he signed a number of law enforcement related bills into law.
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Protests at Emory and UGA have led to dozens of arrests. Kemp blamed much of the unrest on outside agitators.
“A lot of these people that are protesting are not peaceful. It’s the same instigators that we’ve seen for months and months on the Stop Cop City,” Kemp said.
In an exclusive interview with Elliot on Tuesday, Georgia Emergency Management director Chris Stallings confirmed they’re monitoring Georgia’s college campuses.
“Our agency has been standing by to assist emergency managers and response on their campuses, all University System of Georgia campuses have an emergency manager, so we are providing resources to them to assist,” Stallings said.
Kemp said he supports suspending or expelling any student caught breaking the law or engaging in violence.
“I mean, people need to pay the piper, you know? If you’ve broken the law, if you’re damaging property, if you are assaulting, especially police officers, you should have harsh penalties. Send a message we are not going to allow Georgia to become the next Columbia University,” Kemp said.
Kemp reiterated his support for peaceful protests but said he wouldn’t allow protesters to disrupt the lives of other students and citizens.
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