Atlanta protesters attacked ICE field office with fireworks embedded with nails, leaked FBI document says
Demonstrators who allegedly attacked the Atlanta Field Office of US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) embedded nails into commercial-grade fireworks, according to a federal law enforcement document reviewed by Breitbart Texas. Reports state that the rigged devices were discovered on Sunday morning, July 26, after Atlanta police and Georgia National Guard troops converged on the building to gather evidence from the night’s assault.
It was reported on Saturday, July 25, that Black Lives Matter protesters in Atlanta allegedly blasted a federal building with fireworks and shattered its windows.
The document reviewed by the outlet was reportedly a Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) "activity alert" regarding the use of modified fireworks during the demonstrations in the region. According to the alert, nearly 100 to 200 people dressed in dark clothing, backpacks, goggles, and helmets approached the ICE office in Atlanta. They were reportedly carrying large sticks, shields, and bats. The attack resulted in 20 broken windows, and "bomb technicians discovered commercial-grade fireworks with nails embedded in the mortar shell," the document said. Images taken of the fireworks post the protest reportedly showed multiple large nails embedded in the devices.
The protest began after organizers called on people to come out in solidarity with the "freedom fighters" of Portland, according to the outlet. Shortly after fireworks were hurled at the ICE building, multiple videos of the incident were posted online. One post on Twitter read: "DHS/ICE Field Office ransacked by front liners in Atlanta in solidarity with the freedom fighters of the #PortlandProtests and every other suffering poor person trying to build a new world."
While another stated: "Other posts, using the hashtag #PortlandSolidarity, said demonstrators had barricaded a section of Ted Turner Drive overnight, WXIA-TV said."
Portland, amid the ongoing anti-racism protest, has become one of the country's most volatile hotspots for demonstrations with frequent clashes between police officers and protesters. Federal troops have also been stationed in the region in an attempt to curb the violence. Atlanta troops and Georgia National Guard troops, on Sunday morning, had joined forces to gather evidence from the ICE building after the night's assault, according to WSB-TV. Authorities, after inspection, reportedly said that the damage was "significant," with windows shattered and graffiti on the facade of the building. A federal officer, not authorized to speak publicly about the ongoing probe, told Breitbart Texas on conditions of anonymity that the FBI had found modified fireworks from the affected area.
“This kind of device is clearly designed to maim or injure anyone who might be close when it goes off,” the official reportedly said. Officials, in a statement on Monday, July 27, said that the attack on the federal building in Atlanta is being jointly probed by the Federal Protective Services, FBI, and the Atlanta Police Department.
The incident comes days after 53-year-old US Navy veteran was reportedly beaten up and maced by federal agents during a protest in Portland. The veteran later opened up about the assault which was captured in a viral video. Chris David said that he went to the protest on, July 18, after seeing horrifying footage of federal officers driving in Oregon in unmarked cars, snatching protesters off the street, and spraying tear gas on them.
David said that as a former service member, he wanted to talk to the agents about why they were blatantly violating their oath to protect and serve. However, when he approached a group of federal agents outside a Portland courthouse, one officer began beating him with a baton, while another sprayed him with chemicals, David said. The assault broke the veteran's hand in two places. "I wanted to ask them: 'Why are you guys not following the Constitution?'" he told Reuters. "But we never got there. They whaled on me like a punching bag."