Violence Erupts at Stone Mountain
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Violence Erupts at Stone Mountain

On the streets of downtown Stone Mountain. violence erupted between militia and counter-protesters, with rocks, smoke grenades, punches, and mace being exchanged between them.

A rising sophomore at Georgetown University, Nathan plans to major in government and minor in film and media studies as well as statistics, hoping to eventually get into a career creating digital content for campaigns or  covering them for the Atlanta Jewish Times and other media outlets.

  • A counter-protester throws his fist in the air as militia members face off against counter-protesters in downtown Stone Mountain. // Nathan Posner of AJT
    A counter-protester throws his fist in the air as militia members face off against counter-protesters in downtown Stone Mountain. // Nathan Posner of AJT
  • A man with a Confederate flag faces off against counter-protesters. // Nathan Posner of AJT
    A man with a Confederate flag faces off against counter-protesters. // Nathan Posner of AJT
  • A counter-protester and right-wing militia member confront each other.// Nathan Posner of AJT
    A counter-protester and right-wing militia member confront each other.// Nathan Posner of AJT
  • A counter-protester and a Confederate monument supporter confront each other. // Nathan Posner of AJT
    A counter-protester and a Confederate monument supporter confront each other. // Nathan Posner of AJT
  • Protesters march against militias and other groups who support the Stone Mountain monument. // Nathan Posner of AJT
    Protesters march against militias and other groups who support the Stone Mountain monument. // Nathan Posner of AJT
  • Members of the III% militia of Georgia, including leader Chris Hill, stand on the street in opposition to counter-protesters.// Nathan Posner of AJT
    Members of the III% militia of Georgia, including leader Chris Hill, stand on the street in opposition to counter-protesters.// Nathan Posner of AJT
  • A counter-protester waves a Black Lives Matter flag in opposition to Heritage Not Hate protest in Stone Mountain. // Nathan Posner of AJT
    A counter-protester waves a Black Lives Matter flag in opposition to Heritage Not Hate protest in Stone Mountain. // Nathan Posner of AJT
  • Counter-protesters burn a Confederate flag.// Nathan Posner of AJT
    Counter-protesters burn a Confederate flag.// Nathan Posner of AJT
  • Counter-protesters and supporters of the Stone Mountain monument face off against each other.// Nathan Posner of AJT
    Counter-protesters and supporters of the Stone Mountain monument face off against each other.// Nathan Posner of AJT
  • Supporters of the Stone Mountain and protestors face off. // Nathan Posner of AJT
    Supporters of the Stone Mountain and protestors face off. // Nathan Posner of AJT
  • Supporters of the Stone Mountain monument talk with protesters.// Nathan Posner of AJT
    Supporters of the Stone Mountain monument talk with protesters.// Nathan Posner of AJT
  • Pro-Stone Mountain monument protesters hold signs at a rally in support of the monument.// Nathan Posner of AJT
    Pro-Stone Mountain monument protesters hold signs at a rally in support of the monument.// Nathan Posner of AJT
  • Protesters fight over a Confederate flag with a pro-Stone Mountain monument supporter at Heritage Not Hate protest. // Nathan Posner of AJT
    Protesters fight over a Confederate flag with a pro-Stone Mountain monument supporter at Heritage Not Hate protest. // Nathan Posner of AJT
  • Protesters fight over a Confederate flag with a pro-Stone Mountain supporter at Heritage Not Hate protest.// Nathan Posner of AJT
    Protesters fight over a Confederate flag with a pro-Stone Mountain supporter at Heritage Not Hate protest.// Nathan Posner of AJT
  • Counter-protesters and supporters of the Stone Mountain monument fight each other.// Nathan Posner of AJT
    Counter-protesters and supporters of the Stone Mountain monument fight each other.// Nathan Posner of AJT
  • Counter-protesters and supporters of the Stone Mountain monument clash. // Nathan Posner of AJT
    Counter-protesters and supporters of the Stone Mountain monument clash. // Nathan Posner of AJT
  • A Stone Mountain monument supporter wipes blood off his face after getting in a fight with protesters.// Nathan Posner of AJT
    A Stone Mountain monument supporter wipes blood off his face after getting in a fight with protesters.// Nathan Posner of AJT
  • Stone Mountain riot police clear protestors from the area after clashes.  // Nathan Posner of AJT
    Stone Mountain riot police clear protestors from the area after clashes. // Nathan Posner of AJT
  • A veteran who was protesting speaks with Stone Mountain riot police.// Nathan Posner of AJT
    A veteran who was protesting speaks with Stone Mountain riot police.// Nathan Posner of AJT
  • Stone Mountain riot police disperse crowd after violence between protesters and militia members. // Nathan Posner of AJT
    Stone Mountain riot police disperse crowd after violence between protesters and militia members. // Nathan Posner of AJT

Stone Mountain has drawn controversy since it was first envisioned in 1914 and was the location of the rebirth of the Klu Klux Klan on the top of the mountain later the same year. More recently, on July 4, an armed African American militia called the NFAC marched on the mountain and surrounding area, where the group challenged right-wing militias, including the Three Percenters (III%ers) militia.

Members of the III% militia of Georgia, including leader Chris Hill, stand on the street in opposition to counter-protesters.// Nathan Posner of AJT

In response to that march, a group of conservatives organized an event Saturday dubbed Heritage Not Hate, calling for support of the Stone Mountain monument in the wave of recent demonstrations against monuments honoring and memorializing the Confederacy. While initially claiming to have permits from Stone Mountain, the organizers never showed any evidence of such permits and the park was closed in anticipation of the protests.

A counter-protester waves a Black Lives Matter flag in opposition to Heritage Not Hate protest in Stone Mountain. // Nathan Posner of AJT

Chaos over the closing of the park largely paralyzed the Heritage Not Hate protest that never officially reorganized or made a new meeting location.

Meanwhile, a group known as FLOWER United, who have previously called for the sandblasting of the monument honoring three Confederate leaders, organized a counter-protest on Main Street in downtown Stone Mountain.

In opposition, some of the militias that had promoted the protest, particularly Chris Hill’s Georgia Security Force III%, called for directly confronting the FLOWER United group, which included many antifa protestors, directly on the streets of Stone Mountain.

At 9 a.m., when both of the opposing groups were slated to start, they began to argue with each other, and soon the police, who had been holding a slight line between the two groups left, and violence ensued.

A man with a Confederate flag faces off against counter-protesters. // Nathan Posner of AJT

Over the following five hours, the groups exchanged a variety of non-lethal objects, throwing everything from rocks to smoke grenades, with militia members spraying protestors with bear mace and wasp spray. Counter-protesters grabbed Confederate flags from some of the militia men, and burned them, while some of the militia men grabbed protesters, getting into fist fights. Law enforcement returned around noon, and stayed on the sidelines, watching. Around 2 p.m., after the violence had largely subsided and the III% militia had begun to leave, police dispersed protesters using riot shields, and one officer used mace on some of the demonstrators.

Stone Mountain riot police disperse crowd after violence between protesters and militia members. // Nathan Posner of AJT
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