George Floyd protests in Atlanta

George Floyd protests in Atlanta
Part of George Floyd protests in Georgia and the 2020–2021 United States racial unrest
Georgia National Guard troops and protesters near Centennial Olympic Park, June 4
Date	May – June 2020[note 1] (1 month)
Location	Atlanta, Georgia, United States
Caused by	Murder of Ahmaud Arbery Killing of Rayshard Brooks Murder of George Floyd Shooting of Tony McDade Killing of Breonna Taylor Police brutality Racial inequality

The George Floyd protests in Atlanta were a series of protests occurring in Atlanta, the capital and largest city of Georgia, United States. The protests were part of the George Floyd protests and, more broadly, the 2020–2021 United States racial unrest, which began shortly after the murder of George Floyd by police officer Derek Chauvin in Minneapolis on May 25, 2020. On May 26, protesting occurred in the Minneapolis–Saint Paul area and, over the next several weeks, protests spread to cities throughout the United States and then internationally.

In Atlanta, protesting began on May 29, the first Friday following Floyd's murder. The protests primarily centered around Centennial Olympic Park in downtown Atlanta, where several hundred protesters gathered on the first night, though other sites that saw extensive protesting included the Georgia State Capitol, Atlanta City Hall, and the Georgia Governor's Mansion, among other places. On the first day, protesting was primarily peaceful in nature until later in the evening, when the situation became more violent. Protesters and police clashed throughout the night as several buildings and vehicles around the Centennial Olympic Park area were damaged or vandalized. Of particular note, the CNN Center (headquarters of the international news channel CNN) was the site of extensive fighting between police stationed inside the building and protesters outside. During the night, then Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms declared a state of emergency and Georgia Governor Brian Kemp activated the Georgia National Guard; over a thousand troops deployed to Atlanta the next day. The following day, Mayor Bottoms instated a 9 p.m. curfew. The next few days would follow a similar pattern to the first, with protests during the day becoming more intense into the night. Several hundred protesters were arrested during the first several nights of protests, June 5 being the first night since the protests began that no protesters were arrested.

On June 12, a police officer in the city shot and killed Rayshard Brooks outside of a Wendy's downtown, which triggered another large-scale wave of protests. The next day, about a thousand protesters congregated near the site of Brooks' death, and later that evening, the restaurant was burned down. Protesting continued through June, with several large demonstrations occurring on Juneteenth (June 19). A definitive end to the protesting is unclear, with one source published in October 2020 mentioning "months of periodic protests" in the city.^[1] Additional protests were held in April 2021 following the killing of Daunte Wright and the announcement of the verdict in the trial of Derek Chauvin.

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