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Police Move In After Fights Break Out During Protest in US State of Georgia

Associated Press

   STONE MOUNTAIN, GEORGIA - After several hours of mostly peaceful
   demonstrations Saturday in an Atlanta suburb that's home to a giant
   Confederate memorial, large numbers of police moved in to disperse the
   crowds when fights broke out.

   Several dozen right-wing demonstrators, some waving the Confederate
   battle flag and many wearing military gear, gathered in downtown Stone
   Mountain where they faced off against a few hundred counterprotesters,
   many of whom wore shirts or carried signs expressing support for the
   Black Lives Matter movement. People in both groups carried rifles. For
   several hours, there was little visible police presence and things were
   largely peaceful, aside from some shoving and pushing and spirited
   arguments.

   But just before 1 p.m., fights broke out, with people punching and
   kicking each other and throwing rocks. That's when police officers in
   riot gear moved in to disperse the crowds.

   By 2 p.m., almost all of the protesters had left the area.

   Right-wing groups led by an Arkansas group called Confederate States
   III%, had applied for a permit to hold a rally in Stone Mountain Park,
   where there's a giant sculpture of Confederate leaders. The event was
   planned as a response to a march in the park by a Black militia group
   on July 4.

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