Tag: atlanta

Trantifa member pleads guilty to setting off bomb outside Alabama Attorney General’s office

A trans nonbinary Antifa member has pleaded guilty to detonating an explosive device outside the building housing the Alabama Attorney General’s office. 26-year-old Kyle Benjamin Douglas Calvert, of Irondale, had been charged with malicious use of an explosive and possession of an unregistered destructive device in connection to the February incident. 

According to the Trussville Tribune, Calvert changed his plea to guilty last Friday. 

The indictment alleged that Calvert “maliciously damaged, and attempted to maliciously damage, by means of fire and explosive materials, the Alabama Attorney General’s Office,” and that Calvert “knowingly possessed a firearm, to wit: a destructive device… which was not registered to him in the National Firearms Registration and Transfer Record.”  

A detention memo from a US attorney’s office stated, “That device had the characteristics of an IED, and Calvert added a substantial number of nails and other shrapnel to increase its destructive capability.”  

The explosion was set off outside Attorney General Steve Marshall’s office on February 24, at around 3:42am. A person wearing dark clothing, a mask, and goggles was captured on surveillance footage near the statehouse. Law enforcement also found that nearby state buildings had been vandalized with stickers advocating for Antifa and displaying anti-police and anti-Immigration and Customs Enforcement sentiments. 

The FBI linked the man in the video to Calvert after a review of Calvert’s social media. One photo posted by Calvert showed him wearing goggles similar to the ones seen in the footage. Video posted by Calvert showed him detailing a set of stickers that he had purchased, many of which were identical to the ones placed around the Alabama State Capitol. 

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Brave Driver Exposes ‘Human Trafficking’ Operation After Spotting a Body Part Sticking Out of Budget Truck on Atlanta Freeway

An Atlanta resident has exposed a horrifying human trafficking operation in broad daylight.

Langston Proper, the brave driver, noticed something strange while driving on an Atlanta freeway and took decisive action that ultimately saved numerous children from a grim fate. The incident happened five days ago.

Proper was driving when he noticed what appeared to be a hand or some other body part sticking out from a Budget rental truck.

Trusting his instincts, he immediately contacted law enforcement and followed the truck.

This was not a scene from a Hollywood thriller but a grim reality unfolding on the streets of Atlanta. The truck was later discovered to be part of a human trafficking operation.

The driver of the truck was reportedly arrested thanks to Proper’s quick thinking and decisive action.

Langston Proper took to Facebook to share his harrowing experience:

“[Human trafficking] is real… I followed them from midtown Atlanta all the way to [Gwinett County] almost damn near to [Lake Lanier]. My ancestors and GOD said don’t stop, give in or give up. Stay with them, we will guide you and protect you along the way! We must bring awareness to this matter…I need your help guys, human trafficking is a major thing here in the city of Atlanta.”

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20,000 unsubstantiated ballots in GA’s 2020 original results from tabulators that do not exist…

Atlanta is now rivaling Chicago in the crooked politicians and election-cheating game. What unfolded in the Peach State during the 2020 election was downright shameful. If we were a serious country, genuinely concerned about our Republic, it would have been rigorously investigated by bipartisan officials from top to bottom. Of course, that never happened. Instead, we were told to shut up, stop being “election deniers,” and cease spreading “conspiracy theories,” even though the election resembled a third-world circus. We hate to say “we told you so,” especially because it shows how far the US has fallen, but this latest data basically confirms the “cheat” was on. And boy, were they crafty—using those mail-in ballots like torpedoes, blowing holes in our election integrity from every conceivable angle. This recent report, highlighting tens of thousands of unsubstantiated ballots, has understandably left many Americans anxious, prompting them to question what has changed since 2020 to prevent another “2020 sham” in the upcoming 2024 election.

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Atlanta Could Add Psilocybin And Ketamine To City Workers’ Healthcare Plans Under Pending Resolution

A new proposal from an Atlanta City Council member would direct municipal officials to explore the pros and cons of adding coverage for psilocybin and ketamine as mental health treatments to the city’s healthcare plan for firefighters, police and other government workers.

“Traditional treatments for mental illnesses such as depression, anxiety, PTSD, and others have shown limited effectiveness for some individuals, leading to a need for exploring alternative therapeutic options,” the legislation, which is currently being sponsored by 11 of the Council’s 16 members, states. “Recent research has demonstrated the potential efficacy of alternative therapies such as ketamine-assisted therapy and psilocybin-assisted therapy in treating various mental health conditions, offering promising results where other treatments have failed.”

The resolution’s lead sponsor, Councilmember Liliana Bakhtiari, has said city workers deserve access to a broad range of mental health services.

“We should be offering our employees—and especially our first responders, who are expected to be superhuman—the same amount of grace and providing them with a tool set to essentially overcome this issue,” The lawmaker recently told Axios.

Bakhtiari said the impetus for including the drugs on public employees’ health plans was meeting a West Virginia police officer who witnessed a fellow officer die of suicide and later used ketamine to treat his PTSD. The lawmaker said they’re not aware of any other city governments that have looked into covering psilocybin or ketamine treatment.

The resolution from Bakhtiari would request the Atlanta’s human resources department to “explore the feasibility of adding coverage for ketamine therapy, psilocybin therapy, and other alternative therapies for mental illness in the City’s employee benefits contract during its next round of negotiations.”

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An Atlanta Cop Killed This Man For Refusing To Sign a Ticket

Johnny Hollman called 911 after he was in a minor traffic accident. But instead of helping, the responding officer beat and tased Hollman after he was hesitant to sign a ticket, resulting in the 62-year-old’s death. 

Hollman’s family sued, and they’ve now been awarded a $3.8 million settlement.

“While nothing can undo what has been done,” Atlanta mayor Andre Dickens said in a statement this week, “my priority was to get this family as close to full closure from this unfortunate tragedy as soon as possible.”

During the evening of August 10th, 2023, Hollman was driving home when he was involved in a low-speed collision with another vehicle. According to Hollman’s family’s lawsuit, both Hollman and the other driver called 911 to report the accident. While no one was injured, both drivers disputed who was at fault for the accident. 

After more than an hour, Atlanta Police Department Officer Kiran Kimbrough arrived on the scene. Soon after, he decided that Hollman was at fault and wrote him a citation. 

However, Hollman was hesitant to sign the citation. “Deacon Hollman did not explicitly refuse to sign the citation,” the suit states. (Hollman was a Deacon at his local church). “But in each instance when directed to do so, responded that the collision was not his fault.”

Eventually, Kimbrough threatened to send Hollman to jail unless he signed the ticket, and Hollman called one of his daughters.

According to the suit, Kimbrough then began walking towards Hollman. Almost simultaneously, Kimbrough reached to grab one of Hollman’s arms, and Hollman said “I’ll sign the ticket.”

Hollman said several more times that he would sign the ticket. However, “ignoring Deacon Hollman’s concession to his request that he sign the ticket, Defendant Kimbrough performed a leg sweep maneuver on Deacon Hollman, taking Deacon Hollman to the ground,” the suit states. “While doing so, Defendant Kimbrough commented to Deacon Hollman: ‘You acting crazy!'”

Over the next several minutes, Kimbrough struck the back of Hollman’s head at least twice with his fist, tased him twice, and allowed another citizen to “assist” him by sitting on Hollman’s head and neck, while ignoring Hollman’s frequent statements that he couldn’t breathe.

Eventually, Hollman was taken to a local hospital where he was pronounced dead. An autopsy later concluded that the cause of Hollman’s death was homicide.

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Bodycam footage shows elderly Atlanta deacon being fatally tased by police

Bodycam video footage of the interaction between an Atlanta deacon and a police officer has been released, clarifying what exactly happened in the moments leading up to the officer fatally tasing the man.

The incident took place on 10 August, when the 62-year-old deacon, Johnny Hollman, was getting arrested by Officer Kiran Kimbrough after a minor car crash.

The bodycam footage, which spans almost an hour, captures Officer Kimbrough talking to Hollman and the other driver at the scene of the collision.

Hollman repeatedly insisted that the other driver hit him. The exchange escalated after the officer told the deacon that he didn’t turn his car properly, again blaming him for the crash.

At one point, the officer, who has since been fired, can be heard repeatedly telling Hollman: “Sign the ticket.” Although Hollman clearly doesn’t want to sign it, he eventually concedes as the officer approaches him, saying he’ll sign the ticket. That’s when the physical altercation begins.

The officer tried grabbing Hollman’s arm, but Hollman swatted his arm away, while complaining, “My right arm really hurts, man.” Seconds later, Hollman is on the ground, with the officer’s hands pressed up against his back.

“I ain’t doing nothing,” Hollman yelled. “Why are you hurting me like this, man?”

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Cop City Indictments Threaten Press Freedom Too

THE DISTURBING INDICTMENT of 61 people who protested the Georgia police training facility commonly referred to as “Cop City” lays bare everything that is wrong with RICO laws and the prosecutors who abuse them. Even the author of the federal Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations law, on which the Georgia law is based, agrees that it’s meant to fight organized crime, not stifle dissent.

The implications of the indictment for press freedom may seem like an afterthought considering everything else that is terrible about it. Its working theory is essentially that whenever some members of a protest movement commit crimes, everyone involved in the movement is responsible for the “conspiracy,” no matter how tenuous their connection to the alleged offense. It seeks to criminalize a centuries-old political theory — anarchism — and to frame the activism following George Floyd’s murder as a plot by domestic terrorists (the indictment says the quiet part out loud by listing the date Floyd was killed as the start of the “conspiracy”). Perhaps most importantly, it has upended the lives of all those baselessly indicted.

That said, the threat to press freedom is real and shouldn’t be ignored. Any source considering talking to a journalist about a protest or controversial cause couldn’t be blamed for thinking twice after reading the indictment.

“Defend the Atlanta Forest uses websites, social media, and statements to traditional media to sow disinformation and propaganda to promote its extremist political agenda, legitimize its behavior, and recruit new members,” prosecutors allege. “[I]n an effort to de-legitimize the facts as relayed by law enforcement … members of Defend the Atlanta Forest often contact news media and flood social media with claims that their unlawful actions are protected by the First Amendment.” 

The indictment also alleges that Defend the Atlanta Forest has “worked with external entities to produce videos and podcast interviews” where they discuss “anti-authority movements”; that the group holds “media-attended press conferences to control the story and promote their own narrative”; and that it posts “press releases, misleading information, propaganda, and disinformation” on its website.

The message is clear: Try to spread opinions cops don’t like through the media, and you might find your name listed after “State v.”

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ATLANTA POLICE ARREST ORGANIZERS OF BAIL FUND FOR COP CITY PROTESTERS

ON WEDNESDAY MORNING, a heavily armed Atlanta Police Department SWAT team raided a house in Atlanta and arrested three of its residents. Their crime? Organizing legal support and bail funds for protesters and activists who have faced indiscriminate arrest and overreaching charges in the struggle to stop the construction of a vast police training facility — dubbed Cop City — atop a forest in Atlanta.

In a joint operation with the Georgia Bureau of Investigation, or GBI, Atlanta cops charged Marlon Scott Kautz, Adele Maclean, and Savannah Patterson — all board members of the Atlanta Solidarity Fund — with “money laundering” and “charity fraud.”

The arrests are an unprecedented attack on bail funds and legal support organizations, a long-standing facet of social justice movements, according to Lauren Regan, executive director of the Civil Liberties Defense Center.

“This is the first bail fund to be attacked in this way,” Regan, whose organization has worked to ensure legal support for people resisting Cop City, told me. “And there is absolutely not a scintilla of fact or evidence that anything illegal has ever transpired with regard to Atlanta fundraising for bail support.”

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Segregation forever? Atlanta separates blacks from whites in ‘academic recovery’ summer program

The U.S. Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights (OCR) took more than a year to open an investigation into allegedly intentional racial segregation in Atlanta Public Schools and purported retaliation against parents who complained.

The feds may soon face a similar complaint: keeping predominantly black and white elementary schools apart in a summer program intended to mitigate learning loss due to COVID-19 policies.

The nonprofit Committee for APS Progress asked district officials why majority-black Hope-Hill Elementary School in Atlanta would not be housed on the same site as “the rest of the cluster schools” in Midtown — majority-white Mary Lin, Morningside and Springdale — for this summer’s Academic Recovery Academy, a departure from last summer.

The program website confirms that HHES, which has far smaller enrollment than each of the other three, will continue meeting at its own site while the others will meet at Mary Lin. Only three APS elementary schools among 40 are being kept alone for the summer program.

The arrangement resembles a larger version of the race-based “affinity groups” that are popular in higher education but have prompted litigation when applied to K-12 students and municipal employees. OCR has received several complaints about affinity groups for faculty, according to anti-woke medical advocacy group Do No Harm.

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Man arrested over disturbing graffiti at historic black Atlanta church

A black man was arrested in Atlanta last month after he reportedly vandalized a historic Baptist church with hateful spray-painted images of swastikas as a hanging and other offensive messages, according to several reports.

James McIntyre, 60, was taken into custody by the Atlanta Police Department on February 19 in connection to the shocking vandalism. He was reportedly captured on surveillance cameras creating some hurtful imagery at the Providence Missionary Baptist Church on Benjamin E. Mays Drive, Fox 5 reported.

The front of the church building was tagged with multiple offensive messages, which included “devil worship 666,” “apostate,” “Satan,” “sin,” and at least one unspecified homophobic message. Moreover, the main doors to the facility had a backward swastika along with imagery of a hanging painted on them, 11 Alive reported.

During the investigation, police found McIntyre sitting across the street from the scene of the crime, according to authorities. He was subsequently taken into custody and charged with vandalism to a place of worship.

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