Officer who arrested Georgia lawmaker says he feared repeat of Capitol riot

The officer who arrested a Georgia state lawmaker after she repeatedly knocked on Gov. Brian Kemp’s (R) door on Thursday said the incident reminded him of the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol.

“The events of January 6, 2021 at the U.S. Capitol were in the back of my mind,” the officer, Lt. G.D. Langford, said in an incident report obtained by The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.

“I didn’t want the protestors to attempt to gain entry into a secure part of the Capitol,” Langford continued. “I believed Cannon’s actions of obstructing law enforcement in front of agitated protestors to constitute a breach of the peace.”

Langford added that he feared other protesters would be “emboldened” to follow state Rep. Park Cannon’s (D) lead if he did not step in and arrest her, the Journal-Constitution reported.

In the report, Langford said he warned Cannon that he would arrest her if she did not stop banging on Kemp’s door, according to the Journal-Constitution. It was then, he added, that the protesters congregating in the lobby “began to get louder as she was refusing to follow my commands.”

On Thursday, Cannon was arrested after refusing to stop banging on Kemp’s office door. Cannon said she did so in response to the governor’s signing of a controversial voting bill, which included strict voting restrictions such as limiting the use of ballot drop boxes and instituting photo ID requirements for absentee voting.

Cannon began knocking on the door while Kemp was hosting a livestreamed event for the bill’s signing. Video of the incident circulated on social media.

Cannon was later jailed and charged with obstruction of law enforcement as well as “preventing or disrupting General Assembly sessions or other meetings of members.” She sustained bruises during her arrest.

NAACP attorney Gerald Griggs later confirmed that Cannon, who at 24 years old is the state’s youngest lawmaker, had been released from custody.

Sen. Raphael Warnock (D-Ga.) on Thursday condemned Cannon’s arrest, telling reporters outside the Fulton County Jail that “she did not deserve this.”

“What we have witnessed today is a very desperate attempt to lock out and squeeze the people out of their own democracy,” Warnock said.  

“The people are being locked down and locked out of their own democracy,” he continued, adding, “This effort to silence the voices of Georgians … will not stand.”