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Six suspects charged in Atlanta riots appear in court
Prosecutors asked the judge to deny bonds for all six defendants, even though most have no criminal records. However, almost all of the defendants are from out of state. Prosecutors also worried they could be repeat offenders if they got out.
ATLANTA - Two of the six suspects arrested during a riot in downtown Atlanta Saturday evening have been granted bond Monday morning.
A Fulton County Court judge granted both 23-year-old Ivan Ferguson of Nevada and 20-year-old Graham Evatt of Decatur, Georgia bond of over $355,000.
The other four suspects Nadja Geier, 24, of Nashville, Tenn.; Madeleine Feola, 22, of Spokane, Wash.; Francis Carrol, 22, of Kennebunkport, Maine; and Emily Murphy, 37, of Grosse Isle, Mich. were denied bond.
All six of the men and women are each charged with four felonies and four misdemeanors including rioting, pedestrian in a roadway, willful obstruction of a law enforcement officer, and unlawful assembly.
DOWNTOWN ATLANTA RIOTS: POLICE RELEASE NAMES, PHOTOS, CHARGES OF SIX ARRESTED
The felony charges include second-degree criminal damage, first-degree arson, interference with government property, and domestic terrorism.
As part of the conditions of their bond, Ferguson and Evatt will have a 24-hour curfew with the exception of school, work, meeting their attorney, or attending a religious service.
They will be required to wear an ankle monitor provided by Fulton County and can not have weapons or any contact with any of the other arrested suspects - the one exception being Geier , who officials say is in a relationship with Ferguson.
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Atlanta police chief calls downtown Atlanta riot 'terrorism'
"It doesn’t take a rocket scientist or an attorney to tell you that setting fires and breaking windows isn’t protesting. It is terrorism," Police Chief Schierbaum said during a press conference with Mayor Andre Dickens.
TIMELINE: HOW ‘STOP COP CITY’ MOVEMENT LED TO VIOLENT DOWNTOWN PROTEST AGAINST ATLANTA POLICE
FOX 5 Atlanta photojournalist Billy Heath captured two of these six individuals being arrested on video.
In a statement posted Monday morning on Twitter, Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp noted the fact that most of those arrested were from out of the state.
"Law enforcement demonstrated how quickly we shut down those trying to import violence from other states, and we'll continue to do so," Kemp said.
The violence came days after law enforcement shot and killed an environmental activist who the Georgia Bureau of Investigation said shot a state trooper.
Demonstrators took to Underground Atlanta Saturday to demand an investigation into the death of Manuel Esteban Paez Teran, a 26-year-old protester who killed by Georgia State Troopers during a sweep at Intrenchment Creek Park Wednesday. That area is the planned site for the Atlanta Public Safety Training Center, or what some critics are calling "Cop City."
Investigators said Teran did not comply with commands by a joint task force, and that he fired at a trooper first.
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"I saw people smashing out taillights of cop cars and windows," witness says
A witness to a riot that broke out during a protest in downtown Atlanta told FOX 5 he saw people smashing taillights and windows of law enforcement vehicles.
On Friday, the Georgia Bureau of Investigation released a picture of the gun the agency said they found on Teran. Officials said ballistic investigators matched that gun to the bullet that wounded the trooper.
At least three businesses were targeted and damaged when rioters threw bricks and rocks shattering windows. At least two police cars were targeted, one was set ablaze. Investigators said some of the individuals arrested were found with explosives.
In a press conference Saturday night, Mayor Andre Dickens and Atlanta Police Chief Darin Schierbaum said city officials will continue to look for anyone who was involved in violence and destruction that night.
"My message to those who seek to continue this kind of criminal behavior: We will find you, we will arrest you, and you will be held accountable," Mayor Dickens said.
"It doesn't take a rocket scientist or an attorney to tell you that breaking windows or setting fires is not protesting, that is terrorism," Schierbaum said.