The CNN sign damaged by vandals Friday in downtown Atlanta has been a tourist photo spot for decades outside the CNN Center complex named for the news network that was founded in Atlanta.
The sign spells out the network’s name in vivid red letters with white highlights along the sidewalk on Centennial Olympic Park Drive.
The damage at CNN Center followed what had been a peaceful protest Friday afternoon in response to the death of George Floyd in Minneapolis.
By later Friday afternoon, the event turned chaotic outside CNN Center, where some of the protesters were seen in scuffles with officers. Pepper spray was deployed and some in the crowd began to disperse.
As tensions mounted outside CNN Center around 7 p.m., some in the large crowd began defacing the CNN sign. About 8:30 p.m., looters were seen entering CNN Center and the McCormick & Schmick’s restaurant.
Because of the sign’s size and symbolism, it has been a popular spot for tourists to take photos. And it also has been the background for past protests, but until Friday it had not been a target.
Credit: Johnny Crawford
Credit: Johnny Crawford
Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms singled out the damage at CNN Center in a speech Friday night about the protests from Atlanta police headquarters.
Speaking directly to protesters who damaged property and clashed with police, Bottoms said, “You have defaced the CNN building. Ted Turner started CNN in Atlanta 40 years ago because he believed in who we are as a city. There was a black reporter who was arrested on camera this morning who works for CNN. They are telling our stories. And you are disgracing their building.”
The iconic sign was cleaned on Saturday morning.
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