Vandals targeted Manuel’s Tavern in Midtown early Wednesday, the day Mayor Andre Dickens was to speak to the Young Democrats of Atlanta. Police say the vandalism was likely committed by opponents of the Atlanta Public Safety Training Center.
Brian Maloof, owner of the renowned bar and restaurant popular with politicians, said the Coca-Cola mural was defaced with spray paint and vandals also clogged the building’s doors with glue, according to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. He also said police had warned protesters who oppose the training center, which they call “Cop City,” could target Dickens’ speech.
Maloof told the AJC when he arrived around 3:45 a.m. on Wednesday, he saw spray paint on the bar’s windows and the mayor’s name, “Andre,” in small writing.
“What upset me the most was that they spray painted the Coke mural,” Maloof told the AJC. “I can’t figure out exactly how to fix that without damaging the mural.”
Dickens delivered his speech to the Democratic supporters Wednesday evening while a small group of “Cop City” protesters gathered outside the bar amid heavy police presence, according to the AJC.
Atlanta Police Chief Darin Schierbaum addressed the vandalism at Manuel’s Tavern at a Thursday morning press conference at Salem Bible Church. The press conference, with the mayor, was held to discuss crime reduction in the city during 2023.
“That is an open investigation by this department. We do have leads,” Schierbaum said in response to a reporter’s question.
He said the vandalism was “highly likely” committed by opponents of the Atlanta Public Safety Training Center. He noted opponents of the training center have also used arson to protest the building of the complex.
Schierbaum also said it was a “very small group of individuals” who are responsible for the acts.
“Anybody, whether using a spray paint can [or arson] have the attention of this police department,” he said.
“We will identify them and we will arrest them and no one should think that they can just hide in the darkness and try to intimidate those that have been elected to serve the city,” he said.
In October, activist organizations released a list it says are corporations who have contracts to build the Atlanta’s controversial public safety training center.
The list also included corporations, including Coca-Cola, who sponsor or donate to the Atlanta Police Foundation (APF), the private, nonprofit organization that is raising private funds to build the training center and overseeing its construction.
