WHAT IS THIS, A GOOD DEMOCRATIC MAYOR?  Amazing, stupendous, possibly the greatest story in political history.  America may have found a big-city Democratic mayor who knows the job.  Tell your friends, please.  From Fox:

Atlanta Mayor Andre Dickens rebuked those claiming that the anti-police riots seen overnight were not violent, saying that the charges against the six protesters arrested will include "domestic terrorism."

Dickens, a Democrat, pushed back on CBS host Margaret Brennan during an appearance on "Face The Nation" Sunday morning. During a panel slated to discuss crime and violence plaguing American cities, Brennan asked for an update on the protests in response to the death of 26-year-old environmental activist Manuel Esteban Paez Teran. 

Teran reportedly went by the name Tortuguita, identified as nonbinary, and used they/it pronouns. Authorities said Teran first shot and wounded a state trooper tasked with clearing protesters from the construction site of a new public safety training center. 

Teran was allegedly killed by Georgia State Patrol officers who returned fire, and Brennan noted how the protests in downtown Atlanta Saturday came in response to police saying body-camera footage of the shooting doesn’t exist. Dickens, instead, emphasized how the peaceful protests devolved into violence, noting how individuals "had explosives," "burned down a police car" and "broke windows at businesses." 

"And so our police department, along with our state and federal partners, took swift action within two blocks and brought that situation under control," Dickens said Sunday. "And the violence stopped, and those six individuals were arrested. And it should be noted that these individuals were not Atlanta or Georgia residents. Most of them traveled into our city to wreak havoc. And so, we love to support people when they're doing right, peaceful protest is a part of the American -- our freedoms, but when you are violent, we will make sure that you get held accountable." 

"When you say people from out of town, they're carrying explosives. Is this an organized movement here?" Brennan responded, noting how Atlanta newspapers cite possible links to "environmental activists, radical anarchist and black revolutionaries." Brennan also cited claims from Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Ga., blaming Democrats for condoning Black Lives Matter and Antifa. 

While Dickens declined to respond to Greene’s remarks, he agreed the riots constitute "domestic terrorism."

"The crimes range from violence to domestic terrorism to assault battery and some other things," the mayor said. "But yes, it is violent when someone turns to burn down a police car or breakout windows or have explosives on them. I don't get into the names. I don't know all the organizations. I'll let y'all decide who did it. I just know they're arrested. And if they come into Atlanta, again, to wreak havoc, they will be arrested again."

COMMENT:  Hey, that's what we want to hear.  Maybe this new mayor of Atlanta, elected in November, can turn things around.  That starts with the right words, and he's using the right words.  Compare him please with the mayor of Chicago, Lori Lightfoot, who's now running for re-election on her abysmal record, and appears to be losing. 

Let's watch Mayor Dickens.  We may well have a true leader on our hands.

January 22,  2023