Marjorie Taylor Greene to propose designating Antifa as terror group after Atlanta 'Cop City' burned
WASHINGTON, D.C. - Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Ga., said Sunday she will be introducing a resolution declaring Antifa a terrorist group in response to protests in Atlanta that left a police training facility on fire.
"Antifa are domestic terrorists and I'm introducing my resolution to officially declare them a terrorist organization on Tuesday," the congresswoman wrote in a tweet Sunday night.
Smoke and flames were seen coming from equipment at the future Atlanta Public Safety Training Center, which has been called "Cop City" by anti-police protestors. Video taken by FOX 5 shows a bulldozer and other pieces of equipment on fire.
KEMP REACTS TO CLASH BETWEEN PROTESTORS AND OFFICERS AT SITE OF ATLANTA POLICE TRAINING FACILTY
The training facility is located in southeast Atlanta on Key Road, where protestors opposing the construction of the facility clashed with police. A Georgia State Trooper told the outlet that a Molotov cocktail was thrown.
In 2021, the City Council approved spending $90 million on the training center in an effort to replace substandard offerings and increase police morale hurt by hiring and retention following the 2020 protests against the death of George Floyd.
Protesters self-described as "forest defenders" and a progressive group called "Stop Cop City" argue that the new facility being built in the wooded parts of Atlanta will cause a loss of trees detrimental to the environment, and that it would promote the militarization of the police.
Protesters in June 2021 began camping in the section of woods designated for the training facility.
At least 19 people have been arrested and charged with domestic terrorism since December in connection with protests against the training facility.
Six of those arrests were made in response to a riot in downtown Atlanta on Jan. 21 that began after Georgia State Patrol shot and killed environmental activist Manuel Esteban Paez Teran during efforts to clear protesters from the area. The activist had shot a trooper in the abdomen before officers returned fire.
Greene claimed in a separate tweet on Sunday that Antifa was behind the attack on the Public Safety Training Facility.
"This is domestic terrorism. It was planned for weeks and announced on social media. Antifa are self proclaimed communists and consistently organize to attack our government over and over again. They should be taken seriously and not tolerated anymore," she wrote.
U.S. Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA) waits to speak during a news conference outside the U.S. Capitol on February 1, 2023 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Drew Angerer/Getty Images)
Rep. Lauren Boebert, R-Colo., similarly introduced a resolution in 2021 to designate Antifa a terrorist organization, but it failed to receive any traction in the House, which was controlled by Democrats at the time.