Gov. Brian Kemp declared a state of emergency Thursday, giving him the option of calling in the Georgia National Guard in response to a violent protest in downtown Atlanta over the killing by authorities of an environmental activist said to have shot a state trooper.
The declaration allows the Republican governor to call up to 1,000 Guard members over the next 15 days to help “subdue riot and unlawful assembly.” A Kemp spokesperson said later that there has been no mobilization so far and the order is a precautionary measure that gives the governor the ability to act if necessary.
