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Riot and police car arson bills clear Georgia House, move to Senate

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Published  March 1, 2023 6:46pm EST
Georgia Politics
FOX 5 Atlanta

Two bills pass Georgia House in response to violent protest

An Atlanta Police car set on fire in Downtown Atlanta when a January protest over the proposed Atlanta Public Safety Training Center turned into a riot. The Georgia House passed two bills to deter something like that from happening again.

ATLANTA - The Georgia House passed two bills Wednesday that aims to prevent a repeat of the violent January riot in Downtown Atlanta. One of the bills tackles rioting and the other arson of a police car.

"We need to send a message to those folks that want to create acts of violence through riots that we will not tolerate it," said state Rep. Mike Cheokas, R-Americus.

Rep. Cheokas is pushing HB 505 which would make rioting a felony, but those against it worry it will do more than that like silence protestors from expressing their first amendment rights.

"We have to give the rights to citizens, the first amendment right is crucial," said state Rep. Solomon Adesanya, D-Marietta. "There's a reason why the framers have that in place."

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A peaceful protest of the deadly shooting of a man by law enforcement clearing the site of the planned Atlanta Public Safety Training Center turns into a riot in Downtown Atlanta on Jan. 21, 2023. (FOX 5)

After some debate, HB 505 passed the House Wednesday in a near party-line vote.

Another bill related to January's violent protest would create the crime of arson of a police car.

"You are taking a tool that is protecting people, many, many people out of service," said state Rep. Deborah Silcox, R-Sandy Springs, who co-sponsored the bill.

Backers of the bill say it is needed, but those opposed, among other reasons, believe it is unnecessary.

"There are other crimes on the books that will deal with such actions," said state Rep. Omari Crawford, D-Decatur. "So, a lot of concern is that 500 is actually duplicative of some of the other laws that we currently have."

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The Georgia House passes two bills stemming from a riot in Downtown Atlanta on Jan. 21, 2023. (FOX 5)

HB 500 faced similar opposition to its sister bill and passed in a near party-line vote.

The ACLU of Georgia policy director Christopher Bruce released a statement against HB 505: 

"HB 505 is an anti-protester bill and there is simply no justification for criminalizing protest. The First Amendment protects the right to protest, and lawmakers should not pass laws aimed at silencing viewpoints they simply do not agree with. The ACLU of Georgia opposes all legislation that attacks our constitutional rights."

Both bills now head to the Georgia Senate for consideration.