The officer who arrested Georgia State Rep. Park Cannon on Thursday said that her actions reminded him of the Jan. 6 Capitol riots. 

As Blavity previously reported, Cannon was arrested after protesting Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp’s decision to sign SB 202, a controversial 98-page omnibus bill that will propagate
voter suppression. 

According to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution (AJC), Lt. G.D. Langford said in a 13-page incident report that he feared other protesters would be “emboldened” to follow Cannon’s lead after she persistently knocked on Kemp’s office door. 

Langford expressed that he was concerned about the group that had gathered in the lobby, who he says “began to get louder as she [Cannon] was refusing my commands.” 

“The events of January 6, 2021, at the U.S. Capitol were in the back of my mind,” Langford wrote in the report. “I didn’t want the protestors to attempt to gain entry into a secure part of the Capitol. I believed Cannon’s actions of obstructing law enforcement in front of agitated protestors to constitute a breach of the peace.”

The arresting officer also said in the report that he warned Cannon he would arrest her when she refused to listen to his requests to stop knocking on Kemp’s door. He claims he attempted to downplay the situation by crossing his ankles and displaying a calm demeanor. 

Tamara Stevens, an activist and protester who filmed Cannon’s arrest said, “Nobody touched that door. We didn’t go anywhere near that door. We followed the police officers who were taking Park into the elevator."

“There was no attempt, flat out, to breach the door," she added. “She’s the only person that touched the door, period. Without any hesitation.” 

NBC News reported that following her arrest, the 30-year-old representative was taken to Fulton County Jail and was released on a $6,000 signature bond. 

Park returned to the Georgia State Capitol building Monday engaging in a silent protest with Martin Luther King III and was followed by supporters wearing black t-shirts that read “Stand With Park.” 

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution political reporter Greg Bluestein shared footage of the event. 

“I’m here to stand with Park Cannon and to deplore the treatments that she received at the hands of Georgia state troopers, state Sen. Nan Orrock, D-Atlanta said. “I hope you’ve seen the video because the rest of the world has seen it.”

ArrestgeorgiaPark-Cannon