‘Cop City’ Protesters Claim Responsibility For Setting Concrete Trucks on Fire As Group Tries to Halt Construction

A faction of those protesting Atlanta's controversial planned police training center — dubbed 'Cop City' by its adversaries — claimed responsibility for setting fire to six concrete trucks near the construction site this week.

On Wednesday, a group posted a message on the Scenes from the Atlanta Forest blog admitting to placing "incendiary devices and kindling" near the engines and fuel tanks of six Ernst Construction trucks on Monday night.

"Ernst is pouring the foundation for Cop City. This site, like so many others, is completely unguarded," the post read.

Ernst Concrete, however, denied involvement with the training center project.

"At the request of Ernst Concrete's local customers, Ernst Concrete supplied two loads of concrete for the roadway surrounding the project," the company said in a statement.

The trucks were set aflame at the concrete company's business in Gwinnett County. The county's fire department Tuesday morning said the flames were contained to the vehicles and did not spread to the nearby structures, according to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.

Capt. Ryan McGiboney, spokesperson for the Gwinnett County Fire and Rescue, told the newspaper the department was aware of the claim posted online and is working with the Atlanta police and other agencies to investigate all possible suspects.

The blog post claiming responsibility went on to identify the concrete company's other locations and explained the intent was to "make contractors afraid again."

"There was a time when contractors were afraid to take on this project. If we can make the cost of the contract greater than the profit, they will drop it," the post read.

The arson followed a march protesting the planned facility on Monday, which ended in a clash between protesters and police.

Protesters have been attempting to halt construction on the planned $90 million police training facility on the outskirts of the Atlanta metro area since the project was announced in 2021, and ramped up when construction on the site began earlier this year.

In September, five people were arrested for chaining themselves to construction equipment.

More than 60 activists have been charged with racketeering for what Georgia Attorney General Chris Carr called using "any means necessary ... including violence" to stop the police project from continuing.