Georgia Republicans reiterate support for forceful police response to campus protests

Arrests are made as Atlanta Police Department and Georgia State Patrol officers order Pro-Palestinian and "Cop City" protesters to disperse from the quad on Emory University's campus on Thursday, April 25, 2024. (Matthew Pearson/WABE)

Georgia Republicans on Wednesday reiterated their support for a forceful police response to campus protests over the Israel-Hamas war.

Gov. Brian Kemp, before he signed laws related to policing, praised officers for “standing strong and maintaining order in the face of protests and disturbances on our college campuses.”

State troopers have aided local and campus police in breaking up encampments and arresting protesters at Emory University in Atlanta and the University of Georgia in Athens. Emory’s president has since apologized for calling outside officers after police used pepper spray balls, aggressively tackled protesters and used an electrical stun gun to shock at least one protester.