Smoke and flames were being put out at the Atlanta Public Safety Training Center construction site on Sunday, and the facility was put on lockdown.
Officials told Fox News that protesters set at least one construction vehicle on fire before the protest was contained.
Protesters reportedly held a rally not far from the construction site at 5 p.m. local time (22:00 GMT on Sunday) and then marched toward the area currently under construction with makeshift shields. A riot began, and the protesters clashed with law enforcement, throwing rocks, sticks, and Molotov cocktails at police, a Georgia State Trooper told Fox News.
Protestors and environmental advocates argue that state's woods, which span more than 1,000 acres, should be preserved as one of its most significant green spaces, while other protestors argue that the site will be use to enable and increase the militarization of local police forces.
The protesting groups are known as 'Stop Cop City' and 'Defend Atlanta Forest'.
Protests against the construction of the future police training facility in Atlanta have been ongoing since the center was proposed in the summer of 2021. At the end of January, Georgia Governor Brian Kemp declared a two-week state of emergency when riots in Atlanta became violent, with protesters throwing rocks, launching fireworks and burning a police car in front of the Atlanta Public Safety Training Center.