‘Georgia Child Militia’ Video Draws Outrage On Social Media
A video of a purported “Georgia Child Militia” hit Twitter early Saturday morning, drawing sharp rebukes from critics on the site. Among those who expressed dismay over seeing four children dressed in riot gear and standing outside an Atlanta Mall was Chicago Alderman Carlos Ramirez-Rosa. After seeing the video, he posted on Twitter that Georgia Protective Services needed to get involved if the parents put the kids out there.
Ramirez-Rosa added that human rights advocates needed to get involved if the state of Georgia put the children out there. He went on to say the video seemed to be showing some form of child abuse.
The Heavy reported that the video of the kids, since dubbed the Georgia Child Militia, was shot in an unsafe section of Atlanta on Friday night. The site said it was able to pinpoint the location as being in front of the Lenox Mall. The video of the children wearing army fatigues and brandishing riot shields standing outside the mall was posted around 2 a.m. on Saturday morning. Just an hour before the post was put on Twitter, the fire department was called to the area to put out a blaze apparently set by angry protestors.
Fire at Del Frisco’s Grille across from Lenox Mall is out. Windows broken and damage to numerous fire trucks. Firefighters picking up hose to leave the scene. @Atlanta_Police and @FultonSheriff protecting firefighters. #AFRD #ATL #Atlanta. pic.twitter.com/dwXXDL3iHk
— Atlanta Fire Rescue (@ATLFireRescue) May 30, 2020
Ramirez-Rosa posted another video of the children in military dress about an hour after the first one surfaced. The second video was initially published by another user and showed a different angle. Neither video purported to know who the kids were, where they came from, or why they were there.
After posting the second video, the Chicago alderman accused the state of Georgia or someone with access to guns and uniforms of child abuse for putting the children out there in the middle of protests that had devolved into what many called riots.
As The Inquisitr previously reported, various state and city leaders attempted to convince protesters not to resort to violence. That included Atlanta’s mayor, Keisha Lance Bottoms. She told one group they were “disgracing the life of George Floyd.” She added that they needed to go home immediately. Elsewhere in the city, a large gathering of protesters attacked the CNN building, confusing some on social media before it was pointed out there was a police headquarters located in the same location.
The protests in Atlanta and other locations around the country followed days of rioting and violence in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Those protests and riots broke out days after video surfaced of a police officer kneeling on the neck of a man later identified as George Floyd. In the video, Floyd could be heard telling the officer he couldn’t breathe until he became unresponsive. He later died on the way to the hospital.
