ATLANTA — Police have arrested five faith leaders after they chained themselves to construction equipment being used to build the new Atlanta Public Safety Training Center.
It comes just two days after more than 60 people were indicted in a racketeering case tied to protests over the training center.
Channel 2′s Tyisha Fernandes has learned that the Georgia Bureau of Investigation is now involved.
Fernandes spoke with a protest organizer on Thursday afternoon who said all five faith leaders were still sitting in jail.
Fernandes obtained video that shows Atlanta police arresting a faith leader and dragging her to a patrol car after she and four others chained themselves to construction equipment.
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“It actually showed the courage and the bravery to put their faith into action and indictments or no indictments, they were not going to be moved,” protest organizer Mary Hooks said.
After the arrests, about 25 protesters showed up to the site on Constitution Road in southeast Atlanta with banners and signs that said, “Stop work” and “This is the people’s injunction to stop cop city.”
Fernandes asked Hooks if she believed police should be trained. She said yes. Fernandes also asked her if she understood that firefighters don’t have a place to train right now.
“I saw the footage. I saw where they were training, and they do need a dignified place to train,” Hooks said. “But do you have to spend $67 million of our people’s money to do it? Do you have to take over 85 acres of land to do it?”
Protesters are expected to gather outside the DeKalb County Jail Thursday night.
Thursday night, police released the names and charges of those arrested:
- Lalita Martin, 28 of Atlanta - charged with trespassing, obstruction and reckless conduct
- Timothy Sullivan, 25 of Burlington, Mass. - charged with trespassing and obstruction
- Ayeola Whitworth, 25 from Atlanta - charged with trespassing and obstruction
- David Dunn, 61 from Roswell - charged with trespassing and obstruction
- Jeffrey Jones, 65 from Smyrna - charged with trespassing and obstruction
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