Spokane woman accused of participating in violent Atlanta riot

A 22-year-old Spokane woman was among several arrested over the weekend on suspicion of domestic terrorism after a riot in Atlanta.

Madeleine Feola, a 2018 graduate of Lewis and Clark High School, was among five other demonstrators in Atlanta who were arrested on Saturday during a protest that turned violent. According to Atlanta Police Chief Darin Schierbaum, a group of protesters began to target buildings and police vehicles in the area.

One unoccupied police vehicle was lit on fire on Saturday, Schierbaum said. Activists also attacked the building that houses the Atlanta Police Foundation with rocks and fireworks.

No one was injured in the protest.

The protest on Saturday was in response to a protester who was killed last week by Georgia police. Georgia authorities said the protester, Manuel “Tortuguita” Teran, 26, shot and injured a state trooper while law enforcement attempted to clear protesters from the site of a proposed police training facility dubbed by activists and protesters as “Cop City.” The occupation of the facility’s proposed location has been ongoing since 2021.

Demonstrators have disputed the police version of the shooting, noting the lack of body cam footage. The Georgia Bureau of Investigations said that police were not wearing body cameras at the time of the shooting. Police located Teran in the woods. They were noncompliant with police orders before the shooting took place, the Georgia Bureau of Investigations said. The bureau said Teran shot the trooper in the stomach before police returned fire.

The bureau said a 9 mm handgun that was legally purchased in Teran’s name was found at the scene.

Several others also were arrested on suspicion of domestic terrorism during a clearing operation at the site of the development that day.

Feola was among five others who were arrested in Atlanta over the weekend. Schierbaum said the protesters were arrested within two blocks of the destruction.

Feola was also arrested on suspicion of second-degree criminal damage, first-degree arson, and interference with government property, all of which are felonies, as well as a handful of misdemeanors.