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Interesting events at Occupy Atlanta
(An operation carried out more efficiently by Billy Sherman, come to think of it. A Georgiacarry.org member went down to talk with them and explain how he supported their right to protest, while lawfully carrying his AKS-47. The police are cool with it -- it's legal. His sign reads that he disagrees with their message, but they have a right to express it.
But when the mayor hears someone has an AK in the park, he orders the demonstration shut down. "They escalated the events to the point where they were no longer consistent with our city’s values related to civil disobedience…"
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Dave, the Mayor is blowing smoke and using this as political cover. One man, neatly dressed carrying a slung AK as a form of silent protest doesn't make nearly enough cover for the Mayor or the city.
I was down there right around the same time the fellow with the AK showed up, while I didn't see him, the incident has been discussed over on Georgia Packing.org quite clearly.
Some facts which conflict with the narrative:
Earlier in the day the police had brought in barricades to surround the park. This was widely reported in the news.
Later in the day a UH-1 started orbiting the park I guess as a DHS command post or some helo contracted by the city. It wasn't a news chopper. This was around 5:30 pm (I was driving home and did a U-turn my route to run past the park a few times to get eyes on what was going on).
Later in the day the man in dark pressed slacks and a blue dress shirt shows up clean shaven and with a small sign and slung AK. The small sign said he disagreed with the protestors message but agreed with their right to assemble. This was around dusk 6:30-7:30 iinm.
The city also had generators with lights brought in to illuminate the park. This would seem to indicate that they had a time table expecting action after dark. This is confirmed by their starting to arrest people still in the park at midnight. Days prior to this there was nearly no police presence during the day. Certainly not hundreds of officers.
Do you blame him? It was clearly in danger of looking like a TEA party, what with law abiding citizens openly exercising their 2nd amendment rights.