Some 1,000 soldiers will be deployed to protect the state Capitol, the governor’s mansion, and the Department of Public Safety building that was vandalized over the weekend, Kemp announced Monday.
“Peaceful protests were hijacked by criminals with a dangerous, destructive agenda. Now, innocent Georgians are being targeted, shot, and left for dead,” Kemp said. “This lawlessness must be stopped and order restored in our capital city.”
This is a supervisor’s office at the command center of the @ga_dps HQ that was vandalized this weekend. Authorities say a homemade grenade was tossed into this room, where state @RepVernonJones tells reporters he backs @GovKemp’s pledge to “track down those responsible.” #gapolpic.twitter.com/bGA4jDW4mE
— Greg Bluestein (@bluestein) July 6, 2020
Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms has yet to comment on the deployment. She announced on Monday afternoon that she had tested positive for the coronavirus. Earlier, however, she pleaded with the citizens to stop the violence that claimed the lives of four people over the weekend. One of them was Secoriea Turner, an 8-year-old girl.
“This random wild, Wild West shoot-‘em-up because you can, has gotta stop. It has to stop,” she said, according to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.