Hundreds of protesters broke windows and threatened to storm the CNN headquarters in Atlanta as night fell Friday.
CNN anchor Chris Cuomo spoke with reporter Nick Valencia, who was on the ground in the company’s Atlanta studio as protesters smashed windows and threatened to charge a line of police.
“They already lit things on fire so far, Chris. They lit a police car on fire at about 8 o’clock that was just still smoldering. They’ve lit signs on fire, this is a crowd that came to confront police,” Valencia said. “They’re angry, and we can’t underscore, you know, on the cursory level, you see the violence that is happening and unfolding right in front of our cameras. They’re here under the premise because a black man was killed by police. They want to hold police accountable.”
Protests have broken out in major cities across the United States after 47-year-old George Floyd died while in police custody. Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms was outraged by the behavior of protesters and accused the crowds of “disgracing the life of George Floyd.”
“You are burning cars,” said Lance Bottoms during a press conference as violence enveloped the city. “You have defaced the CNN building. Ted Turner started CNN in Atlanta 40 years ago because he believed in who we are as a city. There was a black reporter who was arrested on camera this morning who works for CNN. They are telling our stories, and you are disgracing their building.”
On Friday morning, CNN reporter Omar Jimenez and other members of his camera crew were arrested by Minneapolis police as the group reported on the aftermath of a destructive night in the Minnesota city.
Earlier in the day, protesters set a police car on fire outside the CNN building and swarmed the downtown news network’s headquarters as tensions reach a boiling part.
