Man arrested in South Carolina for arson related to 'Cop City,' more equipment torched
ATLANTA - The Atlanta Police Department held a press conference on Wednesday morning to give a couple of updates related to arson activities connected to the city's construction of the controversial Atlanta Public Safety Training Center, which is referred to as "Cop City" by protesters and activists.
According to Atlanta Police Chief Darin Schierbaum, another act of arson took place on Tuesday. A piece of equipment belonging to a construction company associated with the training center was set on fire. Although no one has been arrested, Schierbaum said activists took responsibility for the arson on a website.
"Law enforcement is not going to rest until we have everyone in jail," the chief told reporters.
Additionally, Schierbaum announced that a man named Seth Brock Spigner was recently arrested for arson in South Carolina.
According to ABC News 4, the 23-year-old allegedly set fire to two trucks on Dec. 30 at Thomas Concrete in Summerville and spray-painted several messages related to the Public Safety Training Center on trucks at the property.
"Soon, the individuals that have been in the dark of night impacting every one of our neighborhoods will be held responsible as we bring these individuals to justice," the chief said.
Atlanta Mayor Andre Dickens says the project is in the the construction phase, with grading, hauling and grubbing and utilities infrastructure work in motion.
"We are moving forward as planned and not allowing distractions to deter us from improving the safety of Atlantans by completing the public safety training center" Dickens said. "We have intentionally worked to incorporate the voice of the people, garnering strong support from the majority of our citizens who actively contributed valuable recommendations and feedback to this effort. The public persistently asks us to keep them safe from fire, violence and medical emergencies and we deployed strategies that contributed to Atlanta achieving one of the highest reductions in violence among major cities in America."
In December, the APD, the Georgia State Fire Marshals and other law enforcement agencies announced a reward of up to $200,000 in hopes of catching the group behind the fires.
"These individuals are trafficking in fear and that is what they're trying to do," said John King, who heads the Georgia Insurance and Fire Safety Commission.
"You will be found, you will be identified, and you will be held accountable," the chief said.
Schierbaum says the city is now planning to spread the word about the $200,000 reward on 450 billboards in major cities across the United States.
According to Schierbaum, the arson attacks have caused nearly $10 million in damage to the state. Similar attacks in Michigan, Minnesota, and New York have been traced back to the protests, he alleged.
"We're going to put the person or persons in jail who are starting these fires," he said.
Kamua Franklin, an activist affiliated with the "Stop Cop City" movement, says he feels police are trying to criminalize their protests. He says while he has not taken part in the violence, he could see it continuing.
"My expectation is that people may continue to engage in these types of actions, which are a sort of demonstrative model of what people are forced to do," Franklin said.
Vandals target construction firm linked to training center
Vandals hit a construction firm connected to work at the controversial training center for Atlanta police and first responders. Police say someone damaged hundreds of thousands of dollars-worth of equipment at the clayton site of Brent Scarbrough and Company.
A previous fire was reported on the morning of Nov. 16 and damaged construction equipment in Clayton County belonging to Brent Scarborough and Company, Inc. Two days before, a similar fire destroyed several vehicles belonging to a construction company in Lawrenceville.
A spokesperson for Ernst Concrete said the extent of the company's involvement with the APSTC was supplying two loads of concrete for the roadway surrounding the project.
"Ernst Concrete is not the concrete foundation company for the Atlanta Public Safety Training Center," the company said.
According to an online post titled "Make Contractors Afraid Again," the anonymous group set the fire to make the cost of the contract greater than the profit. They also encouraged "experimentation with incendiary placement."
In early October, another company involved in the building of APSTC was also targeted. In that incident, a tractor was torched.
Authorities are also investigating two other fires police allege were connected to the protests. In July 2023, a group used homemade "incendiary devices" to start a fire at the Atlanta Police Department's current training center on the south side of the city that destroyed eight motorcycles.
"There was a police officer inside the precinct at the time this occurred. Had these vehicles been set on fire, the entire precinct would have been ignited," Schierbaum said.
Arson attack damages 8 Atlanta police motorcycles
Atlanta officials say the fire that destroyed eight police bikes could have sparked an explosion and brought down an entire building. They say that fire was intentionally set. FOX 5 got an exclusive up-close look at the burned motorcycles. Public safety officials now need to replace those bikes and repair other bikes that sustained less damage.
Less than two months earlier, police said two people firebombed the Westside At-Promise Center, a center for at-risk youth that had been in the English Avenue/Vine City community for five years.
The city of Atlanta says there have been more than 80 criminal acts and over 170 arrests related to the training center across 23 states.
The city says the issues caused by protestors have raised the cost of the training center by about $20 million.
Meantime, construction is underway and should be done in December.
Controversy over Atlanta's Public Safety Training Center
Protests against the training center — dubbed "Cop City" by opponents — have been going on for more than two years. Around the same time as the fire at the concrete company, activists held meetings, concerts, dinners, and direct action to rally support to block the project.
Atlanta Mayor Andre Dickens and other supporters say the 85-acre, $90 million facility would replace inadequate training facilities and would help address difficulties in hiring and retaining police officers. Opponents have expressed concern that it could lead to greater police militarization and that its construction in the South River Forest will worsen environmental damage in a poor, majority-Black area.
Protests against the project, which have at times resulted in violence and vandalism, escalated after the fatal shooting in January of 26-year-old protester Manuel Esteban Paez Terán, known as Tortuguita. A prosecutor in October said he would not pursue charges against the state troopers who shot Paez Terán, saying he found that their use of deadly force was "objectively reasonable."
In August, Georgia Attorney General Chris Carr indicted 61 protesters using the state's anti-racketeering law, characterizing them as "militant anarchists." The first trial was set to begin last week, but was delayed because the defense argued that the defendant's right to a speedy trial had been violated.
Currently, construction work on the project is around 40% complete.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.