I took a trip in January to Georgia for a photo shoot. Landing in Atlanta, I drove about 45 minutes north to Bartow County where I photographed several fire trucks for Rosenbauer America. While driving through the City of Atlanta, I noticed the Georgia State Capitol Building and made a mental note to check it out if there was time on the way back to the airport.
It was January 18th, and all state capitols were on high alert for the prospect of violence after the US Capitol was attacked on January 6th.
My shoot went well the next day and I had a couple of hours before I needed to be at the airport for my flight. I exited the interstate and looked for a parking spot near the capitol. There were metal barricades/fences cordoning off the building on all sides. The Georgia National Guard and the Georgia State Patrol had been deployed to secure the premises and deter would-be agitators.
Armed military police officers with Humvees were on all sides of the building along with Georgia State Patrol Dodge Chargers, Chevy Tahoes, and troopers.
Two Lenco Bearcat armored vehicles from the Georgia State Patrol SWAT team were alongside the building and a nearby parking garage was home to well over a dozen squad cars.
Two of the cars shown in the photo above are equipped with automatic license plate readers. According to the Georgia State Patrol, only 31 out of 800 State Patrol cars are outfitted with automatic license plate readers.