Another protest in Atlanta led to destruction Tuesday night as the protestors marched to the Atlanta police Zone 5 precinct, where officials say they shattered a window and spray-painted the walls. Others threw frozen water bottles, fireworks and rocks at officers.
Atlanta is not alone in these type protests. All across the country, protests are leading to riots — and local and state buildings seem to be the target. In response, it was reported Tuesday that “Tennessee sent a powerful signal to wannabe insurrectionists.” According to AP reports, Tennessee’s Republican Governor Bill Lee called a special session of the state legislature to address the threats to civil order, and the lawmakers introduced and passed a bill that was signed by Lee last Thursday. The new law increases penalties on people engaging in destructive protest and occupying public spaces while denying their use to others.
Tennessee’s action has many Georgia lawmakers assessing the state’s options to deal with protests that turn violent.
“I have been looking at a number of things, and researching current Georgia law,” said State Senator Randy Robertson (R-Cataula), a 30-year law enforcement veteran who serves on the Senate’s Public Safety Committee. “I have some experience with this type action in Columbus with the protests against Fort Benning. These all took place on private property, but we now have protestors who are vandalizing and destroying public property – property that belongs to the taxpayers.
“In Georgia, we have been very proactive about protecting those in public safety. Now this is something we must look into. This is definitely on my radar and something I am researching in depth.”
Apparently, Georgia lawmakers considered a bill during the 2017 legislative session that addressed domestic terroristic threats and would have imposed what some Senate leaders called “very serious penalties” for offenders. Senate Bill 1, which was sponsored by Bill Cowsert (R-Athens) addressed a number of offenses, including destruction of public property. The bill made it out of the Senate but got held up in the House. The bill initially failed in the House, and was reconsidered, but failed again.
State Representative Micah Gravley (R-Douglasville), Majority Caucus Vice-Chairman and a member of the House Public Safety Committee, said he supported SB 1 during the 2017 session.
“Let me say that it is already against the law in Georgia to vandalize and destroy public property. But I understand there are currently legislators who are looking into the possibility of increasing penalties for this crime,” said Gravley. “I am all for a person’s right to peacefully protest, and will always support that right. I may not always agree with them, but I will always support that right. However, I do not, and never will, support vandalizing public property or putting people’s life in danger.”
Under Tennessee’s new law, “those who illegally camp on state property would now face a Class E felony, punishable by up to six years in prison, rather than a misdemeanor. Felony convictions in Tennessee result in the revocation of an individual’s right to vote. It also imposes a mandatory minimum 45 day hold if convicted of aggravated rioting; increases the fine for obstructing emergency vehicles from accessing highways; requires a court to order restitution for damaging state property and creates a Class C felony offense for aggravated assault against a first responder.”
