23 charged in clash between protestors and police at future Atlanta public safety training center site

 Police have charged 23 people with domestic terrorism after a violent clash between police and protesters at the site of Atlanta's future Public Safety Training Facility, nicknamed "Cop City" by critics.  

Sunday night, police say the DeKalb County construction site was on lockdown as crews worked to put out flames around the area.

In total, the Atlanta Police Department said 35 "agitators" have been detained. It is unknown what charges they will possibly face.

Police began making arrests. (FOX 5 Atlanta)

Officials say around 5:30 p.m. Sunday, dozens of protesters left the nearby South River Music Festival, changed into black clothing, and entered the site of the controversial proposed police training center.

"This was a very violent attack that occurred, this evening very violent attack," Atlanta Police Chief Darin Schierbaum said near the scene.

Construction equipment set ablaze at future Atlanta Public Safety Training Center

Smoke and flames are billowing out at the site of Atlanta's future Public Safety Training Facility infamously called 'Cop City' by protestors. Troopers told FOX 5 a Molotov cocktail was thrown.

A video released by Atlanta Police shows what appears to be fireworks aimed at officers. In the same video, you can see items including rocks and Molotov cocktails being thrown by protestors in the direction of police, a tipped-over vehicle that later became engulfed in flames, and protestors attempting to set other pieces of construction equipment on fire.

Schierbaum called the incident a "coordinated, criminal attack against officers."

"Actions such as this will not be tolerated. When you attack law enforcement officers, when you damage equipment - you are breaking the law," Schierbaum said.

After receiving backup from numerous agencies, Atlanta police fanned out into the woods and detained at least 35 people. Monday, police say they charged 23 of those detained with a count of domestic terrorism.

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Late Sunday evening, Atlanta Police released the following statement:

On March 5, 2023, a group of violent agitators used the cover of a peaceful protest of the proposed Atlanta Public Safety Training Center to conduct a coordinated attack on construction equipment and police officers. They changed into black clothing and entered the construction area and began to throw large rocks, bricks, Molotov cocktails, and fireworks at police officers.
The agitators destroyed multiple pieces of construction equipment by fire and vandalism. Multiple law enforcement agencies deployed to the area and detained several people committing illegal activity. 35 agitators have been detained so far.
The illegal actions of the agitators could have resulted in bodily harm. Officers exercised restraint and used non-lethal enforcement to conduct arrests.
With protests planned for the coming days, the Atlanta Police Department, in collaboration with law enforcement partners, have a multi-layered strategy that includes reaction and arrest.
 The Atlanta Police Department asks for this week’s protests to remain peaceful. 

— Atlanta Police Department

With protestors vowing a "week of action" against the training site, police say they'll step up patrols to prevent what they call an escalation of violence.

"Criminal activity will not be tolerated in Atlanta nor tolerated in connection to this project," Schierbaum said.

No officers were injured in the confrontation. A handful of protestors were treated for minor injuries when officers say they used "non-lethal" force against the group.

Arrested protestors identified

Shortly before noon Monday, police released the identities of the 23 protestors charged in the confrontation. Two of those arrested are from Georgia. The names of the arrestees are below:

• Jack Beaman of Georgia
• Ayla King of Massachusettes
• Maggie Gates of Indiana
• Ehret Notthingham of Colorado
• Alexis Paplai of Massachusetts
• Timothy Bilodeau of Massachusetts
• Victor Puertas of Utah
• Amin Dimitri France Chaoui LeNy of Virginia
• James Marscicano of North Carolina
• Samuel Ward of Arizona
• Max Biederman of Arizona
• Emma Bogush of Connecticut
• Mattia Luini of New York
• Kayley Meissner of  of Wisconsin
• Luke Harper of Florida
• Grace Martin of Wisconsin
• Colin Dorsey of Maine
• Fredrique Rober-Paul of Canada
• Zoe Larmey of Tennessee, 
• Thomas Jurgens of Georgia
• Priscilla Grim of New York

Gov. Kemp responds to latest clash at site

In a statement, Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp called the activists "violent" who put "those in the surrounding community at risk."

"They chose destruction and vandalism over legitimate protest, yet again demonstrating the radical intent behind their actions," Kemp said.

The governor had previously declared a state of emergency during the protests in Downtown Atlanta over law enforcement's killing of one of the environmental activists at the site.  

Speaking at his State of the State address on Wednesday, Kemp decried the protesters as "out-of-state rioters" who "tried to bring violence to the streets of our capital city." He said it was "just the latest example of why here in Georgia, we’ll always back the blue."

In his latest statement, Kemp again reiterated that anyone caught committing illegal acts while protesting at the site will be prosecuted.

"As I’ve said before, domestic terrorism will not be tolerated in this state," he said. "As we continue to respect peaceful protest, we will also continue to ensure safety in our communities. We will not rest until those who use violence and intimidation for an extremist end are brought to full justice."

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A trooper told FOX 5 that a protestor threw a Molotov cocktail. (Credit: FOX 5 Photojournalist Billy Heath)

From: FOX 5 Atlanta

What is the Atlanta Public Safety Training Center? 

In addition to classrooms and administration buildings, the proposed $90-million police and firefighter training center would include a shooting range, a driving course to practice chases, and a "burn building" for firefighters to work on putting out fires. A "mock village" featuring a fake home, convenience store, and nightclub would also be built for authorities to rehearse raids.

The 85-acre property is owned by the city of Atlanta but is located just outside the city limits in unincorporated DeKalb County, and includes a former state prison farm.

Police officials say the state-of-the-art campus would replace substandard offerings and boost police morale beset by hiring and retention struggles in the wake of violent protests against racial injustice after George Floyd’s death in 2020.

Opponents of the training center have been protesting since 2021 by building platforms in surrounding trees and camping out at the site. They say that the project, which would be built by the Atlanta Police Foundation, involves cutting down so many trees that it would be environmentally damaging. Many activists also oppose spending so much money on a police facility that would be surrounded by poor, majority-Black neighborhoods in a city with one of the nation’s highest degrees of wealth inequality.

FOX 5 put together a full timeline of the progression of protests over the past two years, including the trooper-involved shooting death of 26-year-old protestor Manuel Esteban Paez.

https://www.fox5atlanta.com/news/cop-city-protestors-police-smoke

Residents of California city warned not to eat food grown in gardens after toxic dust release

 A Northern California community is still dealing with the aftermath of a November incident in which the Martinez Refining Company failed to notify the public of the release of toxic dust.

The accidental release of a “spent catalyst” from the refinery began the night on Nov. 24, 2022, and continued into the early hours of Nov. 25, showering the surrounding community of Martinez in 20 tons of metal-laden dust, health officials said.

As the dust release remains under investigation, the Contra Costa Health Department cautioned residents of the city east of San Francisco against eating produce grown in exposed gardens.

“Foods grown in soil that contains certain metals may pose health concerns – anyone who is growing food is encouraged to understand the make-up of their soil,” wrote the health department. “Until further environmental testing is complete, the health department recommends not eating foods grown in soil that may have been exposed to the spent catalyst.”

“Just this morning, a friend of mine was asking me about gardening advice, and she wants to plant a garden with her young children,” said Heidi Taylor, whose garden full of produce was blanketed by some of the 20 tons of dust. “Oh my god, don’t put it in the soil. The first thing I said to her was, you better have a container. This is container gardening time now because of what they did.”

County Public Health Director Dr. Ori Tzvieli said a toxicologist will be hired to review the data the health department and hazmat team collect throughout the month.

“We’re looking basically to see if there’s evidence of contamination, where it is, how deep it is and if yes, what needs to be done to remediate the situation. So, until we know, we really recommend not eating food grown in soil that’s been exposed to the spent catalyst,” said Tzvieli.

The dust doesn’t just pose a health threat through the soil – the white powder could have created breathing and respiratory impacts for Martinez residents exposed to it back in November.

The long-term health impacts are “difficult to ascertain at this time,” the health department said.

The Martinez Refining Company did not notify health officials about the release, leading the county to consider enforcement action against the company. The public health department’s investigation into the November incident has been turned over to the district attorney’s office for review.

Taylor said she is considering planting certain flowers that can help pull toxins out of the soil. She is concerned about throwing the dirt away for fear of potentially contaminating a landfill.

The Martinez Refining Company has notified Contra Costa Health Services of upcoming maintenance at its facility. It will cause flaring that can be seen from the surrounding area through Monday.

https://thehill.com/homenews/3885160-residents-of-california-city-warned-not-to-eat-food-grown-in-gardens-after-toxic-dust-release/

Greene to introduce resolution declaring Antifa a terrorist organization

 Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) said on Sunday that she will be introducing a resolution to declare Antifa as a terrorist organization on Tuesday, after blaming the group for protests at a police training facility in Atlanta.

“Antifa are domestic terrorists and I’m introducing my resolution to officially declare them a terrorist organization on Tuesday,” she tweeted on Sunday.

A progressive group called “Stop Cop City” has been protesting against the new training facility being built in the wooded parts of Atlanta since plans for it were announced, arguing it will promote the militarization of the police and may result in environmental concerns.

Fox 5 reported Sunday that the facility was on lockdown after at least one construction vehicle was set on fire amid the latest protests on Sunday.

Greene blamed the far-left organization Antifa for the incident on Twitter, though she did not offer any evidence that Antifa was behind the protests on Sunday.

“This is domestic terrorism. It was planned for weeks and announced on social media. Antifa are self proclaimed communists and consistently organize to attack our government over and over again. They should be taken seriously and not tolerated anymore,” she tweeted.

In January, Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp (R) issued a state of emergency after peaceful protests broke out in response to a police shooting of an activist during an operation to clear out the construction site for the facility.

Greene’s resolution would not be the first of its kind. Rep. Lauren Boebert (R-Colo.) introduced a resolution in 2021 to designate Antifa as a terrorist organization, but the resolution did not get any traction in the Democrat-controlled House.

https://thehill.com/homenews/house/3885538-greene-to-introduce-resolution-declaring-antifa-a-terrorist-organization/

Ronny Jackson jabs Biden over useless health info

 Rep. Ronny Jackson (R-Texas), who was a White House doctor during the Obama and Trump administrations, jabbed President Biden on Sunday when asked about his cancerous lesion removal earlier this week.

“He’s what needs to be removed, not the lesion they found. But this is just another effort from his physician and from his medical team to distract,” Jackson told Maria Bartiromo on Fox’s “Sunday Morning Futures.”

Jackson added that the White House has shared “useless information” about Biden’s health, such as his cholesterol.

“All we care about in this country with regards to President Biden — 80 years old, who’s got some obvious cognitive issues — is a cognitive assessment of some sort,” he said on Sunday.

“We want something on the record to prove to us he’s cognitively capable of doing this job, and it’s almost a moot point at this stage, because we all know he’s not.”

Biden had a basal cell carcinoma lesion removed from his chest last month. His physician said on Friday that all of the cancerous tissue was removed and that no further treatment was required.

Jackson has previously called on Biden to take a cognitive test. He said in 2020 that based on Biden’s speeches, he was “convinced that he does not have the mental capacity, the cognitive ability to serve as our commander in chief and head of state.”

Jackson was the subject of ridicule as former President Trump’s doctor in 2018, when he said that despite Trump’s reported diet of fast food, he had “excellent” cardiac health, earned a perfect score on a cognitive test and weighed just below what is deemed as “obese.” 

The physician has also spread misleading information about COVID-19, saying in 2021 that the omicron variant of the virus was a ruse from Democrats to alter the midterm elections.

Jackson was elected to his first term in the House in 2020 after he retired from the military in 2019.

Biden has responded to criticism of his age and mental acuity by telling the public to watch his actions as president, though he said in a recent interview that questions about his age were “totally legitimate.”

“It’s legitimate for people to raise issues about my age,” he told ABC’s David Muir. “It’s totally legitimate to do that. And the only thing I can say is, ‘Watch me.’ “

https://thehill.com/homenews/house/3885457-ronny-jackson-jabs-biden-over-cancerous-lesion-removal/

NY’s lax bail law lets lethal fentanyl peddlers off scot-free: LI DA

 Some dealers of fentanyl are being released back on the street following their arrests, allowing them to sell more of the highly addictive and dangerous drug, thanks to New York’s lax bail law, a top prosecutor grappling with the crisis claims.

Suffolk County District Attorney Ray Tierney is calling on Gov. Kathy Hochul to make more drug offenses eligible for bail as a way to keep dealers of the lethal synthetic opioid behind bars.

Under New York’s 2019 criminal justice reforms, only class A felony drug offenses are eligible for bail.

“In New York, we have loopholes a mile wide and drug dealers are taking advantage,” Tierney told The Post in a recent interview.

“Our criminal justice laws don’t focus enough on crime victims and the safety of the community.”

A top prosecutor claims some dealers of fentanyl are being released following their arrests.

DEA

Tierney is also requesting that Albany pass a “death by dealer” law to put fentanyl peddlers in prison for a longer period of time.

The fentanyl-fueled opioid crisis has been felt acutely in the Big Apple, which sees fatal drug overdoses every three hours, or eight per day, according to the Office of the Special Narcotics Prosecutor for New York City.

More than 2,800 New Yorkers died of a drug overdose in the city — the vast majority involving fentanyl — over a 12-month span ending in July 2022, according to the most recent data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

By comparison, there were 433 homicides in the city last year.

Hochul’s proposal says New York would get rid of a 2019 requirement that judges impose the “least restrictive” means of ensuring that defendants return to court.

Kevin C. Downs for NY Post

Fentanyl—an opioid 50 to 100 times stronger than morphine—was detected in 80% of drug overdose deaths in the city in 2021 and was the most common substance involved in fatal ODs for the fifth year in a row.

Much of it is smuggled into the US from the southern border by Mexican drug cartels, Attorney General Merrick Garland said last week.

Middle-class Staten Island has been particularly ravaged by the fentanyl scourge– and one lawmaker there supported Tierney’s effort to put the accused merchants of death behind bars pending trial.

“Fentanyl is the most lethal drug of our time. I would fully support legislation that would hold drug dealers accountable and keep them in jail,” Assemblyman Sam Pirozzolo, a Republican who represents the mid-island and eastern portions of the borough, said Sunday.

Meanwhile, more than 400 people died from fentanyl-fueled overdoses in Suffolk in 2021.

The Long Island county that year recorded 32 homicides.

Tierney, in a March 3 letter to Hochul, submitted a list of recommended changes to stiffen the bail law, including making class B felony drug crimes — such as selling a narcotic or possession with intent to sell — a “qualifying offense”  for a judge to impose bail and detention. His proposed changes would have to be approved by the Democratic-run Assembly and Senate, which have resisted changes to bail reform.

“This would importantly capture the sale of dangerous narcotics such as Heroin and Fentanyl (a synthetic opioid that is 100 times stronger than morphine), collectively responsible for the doubling of overdose deaths in the past 4 years,” he wrote.

Tierney pointed to the case of Vito Frabizio, who sold fentanyl to a recovering addict, Frank Cairo, 51, who died of an overdose in March 2022.

The dealer was arrested in an undercover sting operation for selling up to 1/8 of an ounce of fentanyl and more than 1/8 of an ounce of cocaine.

But because the charges weren’t bail eligible, he was freed on supervised release — only to later get busted peddling fentanyl again in another undercover operation.

Frabizio was ultimately sentenced to 11 years in prison in November after he pleaded guilty to three counts of third-degree criminal sale of a controlled substance.

More than 2,800 New Yorkers died of a drug overdose in the city over a 12-month span ending in July 2022, according to the most recent data from the CDC.

Still, state law allowed him to get released and inflict more damage following his initial arrest, Tierney said.

“We couldn’t ask for pretrial detention in Frabizio’s case,” Tierney told The Post. “He was actually dealing fentanyl for a month or two-month period” while on supervised release.

Frabizio and other dealers of fentanyl or so-called designer drugs are too dangerous to be put back on the streets for months awaiting disposition of their case, the DA said.

“We should have a dangerous standard so we can ask for bail for fentanyl dealers,” Tierney said.

There have been other cases of accused drug merchants getting sprung while waiting because of the soft-on-crime law — or lenient judges.

Attorney General Merrick Garland said much of the fentanyl is smuggled into the US from the southern border by Mexican drug cartels.

Getty Images

Manuel Pagan, 49, was arrested last November allegedly with 20,000 “rainbow” fentanyl pills in Manhattan’s hip Chelsea neighborhood.

He was charged with criminal possession of a controlled substance in the first degree — a class A-1 felony that is eligible for bail — but Manhattan Judge James Clyne released him anyway.

In July, California men Luis Estrada and Carlos Santos — suspected Mexican drug-cartel smugglers — were busted with a $1.2 million stash of crystal meth.

But the pair were freed under supervised release after being charged with second-degree criminal possession of a controlled substance, as opposed to a narcotic, a rap that does not qualify for bail.

“This is a serious problem,” said New York City Special Narcotics Prosecutor Bridget Brennan told The Post at the time. “The failure to include methamphetamine crimes among bail-eligible offenses was probably an oversight.”

A Republican, Tierney did say he backed Democrat Hochul’s proposal to give judges more discretion in setting bail for defendants accused of serious crimes.

But he said more has to be done.

Under Hochul’s proposal, New York would get rid of a 2019 requirement that judges impose the “least restrictive” means of ensuring that defendants return to court when it comes to those accused of serious crimes.

“You have my most ardent support in this initiative,” Tierney told the governor.

A Hochul rep rattled off a list of items the governor put in her budget to address the opioid scourge — but did not specifically address Tierney’s bail request.

“Governor Hochul’s Executive Budget makes transformative investments to make New York more affordable, more livable and safer, and she looks forward to working with the legislature on a final budget that meets the needs of all New Yorkers,” said spokeswoman Hazel Crampton-Hays on Sunday.

More than 400 people died from fentanyl-fueled overdoses in Suffolk in 2021.

Hochul’s office said her budget request added fentanyl to the list of illegal drugs in the controlled substance law, making it easier to prosecute cases.

She also proposes a new crime for selling an imitation controlled substance,  including passing off lethal fentanyl as cocaine.

Hochul’s $227 billion budget plan includes funding to combat the flow of fentanyl into New York. In particular, the governor creates a $7 million Anti-Fentanyl Innovation grant available to prosecutors, allowing them to target supply chains and prosecute cases involving overdose deaths.

The budget proposal also includes $18 million for Crime Analysis Centers across the state, including $2 million to curb the flow of fentanyl into communities.

The chairman of the state Assembly and Senate Codes Committee who oversee crime legislation, Bronx Democrats Jeffrey Dinowitz and Jamaal Bailey, had no immediate comment on Tierney’s proposal.

https://nypost.com/2023/03/05/nys-lax-bail-law-lets-lethal-fentanyl-peddlers-off-scot-free-da-ray-tierney/

ACC 2023 – Esperion investors don’t buy medics’ enthusiasm

 Medical opinion and investor sentiment are often out of whack. For a case in point see today’s market response to the Clear Outcomes data Esperion unveiled at an American College of Cardiology meeting late-breaker on Saturday, a result described in an NEJM editorial and by an ACC discussant as “compelling”. Yet despite this Esperion stock opened off 20% this morning. One reason might be that the sellside had once hinted at a 25% reduction in Mace-4; this was quietly reined in to 20%, and the eventual benefit of 13% missed even Esperion’s internal expectations of 15%. This is relevant not only in terms of the strength of Nexletol’s potential new label, but also because of Esperion’s financial position. The company has around $167m in cash, and is banking on a $300m milestone from its partner, Daiichi Sankyo, to sustain it beyond the end of this year. The precise trigger for the $300m is secret, but crucially it depends on “the level of risk reduction that is included in the EU label”, according to Esperion. “We know that we will be receiving the milestone,” the company said on an investor call today.

https://www.evaluate.com/vantage/articles/events/conferences-snippets/acc-2023-esperion-investors-dont-buy-medics-enthusiasm

Wedbush Lowers Kala Pharmaceuticals' Price Target to $42 From $47

 

Due to Increased Share Count, Keeps Outperform Rating

https://www.marketscreener.com/quote/stock/KALA-PHARMACEUTICALS-INC-36926679/news/Wedbush-Lowers-Kala-Pharmaceuticals-Price-Target-to-42-From-47-Due-to-Increased-Share-Count-Keep-43169564/