Kemp Says Georgia Will Do ‘Whatever Is Necessary’ To Keep Peace As Atlanta Curfew Continues

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Gov. Brian Kemp delivers an update on protests and coronavirus in Georgia.

Gov. Brian Kemp said Tuesday that law enforcement will take strong measures to prevent looting and violent protesting across the state, decrying “bad actors” while supporting the right to peacefully protest.

Kemp and the state’s public health commissioner also urged both protestors and law enforcement to get tested for COVID-19 after several straight days of large demonstrations in Atlanta.

“We will take the appropriate actions to hold bad actors accountable if they try to infiltrate what has been very peaceful gatherings for well over a month now,” Kemp said. “Let me be clear once again, we will not tolerate disruptive or dangerous behavior, including criminal conduct.”

Atlanta police say nearly 300 people have been arrested since Friday night, when a peaceful march through the city devolved into looting and property destruction well into Saturday morning after most people went home.

The city is under a 9 p.m. curfew for the fourth night in a row and thousands of National Guard troops have been deployed to enforce the measure and support local and state law enforcement.

“I am outraged that Georgians are now in harm’s way because some are using this moment to riot, to loot and to compromise the safety of our citizenry,” Kemp said. “I will tell you that violence and destruction is unacceptable."

Numerous cities across the U.S. are engulfed in demonstrations against police brutality in remembrance of George Floyd, a black Minneapolis man who died after former police officer Derek Chauvin dug his knee into Floyd’s neck for more than seven minutes during an arrest. Chauvin has been charged with murder.

In those cities, many officials have cited “outside agitators” or suggested that many of the violent incidents during protests were caused by non-locals.

Of the Atlanta arrests, only six of 82 names released so far by the Fulton County Sheriff’s office belonged to people with out-of-state addresses, but Georgia Bureau of Investigation Director Vic Reynolds said that his agency had intelligence that various outside groups were in Georgia.

Reynolds and Kemp said they could not get confirmation of any specific group to share with reporters.

Breakdown: Data On 82 People Arrested In Atlanta During Racial Unrest

The governor said he was willing to sit down with protest organizers and said it was important above all else that peaceful demonstrations end when the curfew begins so law enforcement can handle those who wish to do bad things.

"We will do whatever is necessary to keep the peace," Kemp said. "That being said, I still have hope that we can emerge from this stronger than ever before and more united than ever before." 

Kemp said he has asked the Georgia Department of Natural Resources to look into why DNR law enforcement detained Alyssa Pointer, a black Atlanta Journal-Constitution photographer who was covering protests Monday. A number of journalism organizations posted a statement condemning the detainment of Pointer and Haisten Willis, a freelancer working for the Washington Post who was temporarily held Sunday by Atlanta Police while covering protests as well.

Department of Public Health Commissioner Kathleen Toomey encouraged those who have been out in the streets protesting to get tested for COVID-19 to help health officials proactively identify any hotspots that may form.

“When you have this many people gathered together in close proximity, you run the risk of viral transmission,” she said.

Toomey added that DPH reached out to Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms’ office to set up testing sites for first responders, as well as working with the state patrol and the National Guard to test those members for the virus.

The governor urged those that are protesting to abide by curfews set by local officials, asking Georgians to “work with us on organized, peaceful protests” moving forward.

“We are in a very precarious point right now,” he said. ”Because you have one or two people that are going to cause an incident like we’ve seen in other states where somebody gets shot.”

Kemp pointed to an Atlanta Police officer working a protest that was hospitalized after a man on a four-wheeler hit him at a high speed over the weekend.

The governor also said there would be heavy police presence in Brunswick on Thursday, where two white men will have a court hearing in the shooting death of Ahmaud Arbery, which has renewed calls for hate crimes legislation in Georgia.