Occupy Atlanta Concert Conflict

Tensions between Atlanta officials and members of the “Occupy Atlanta” movement have mounted over a downtown hip-hop festival that was canned Oct. 22 over permit issues.

The fest was set to feature local artists such as Cyha the Prynce and Slim Dunken at Woodruff Park where protestors have been camping out.

However, during a recent press conference, Atlanta Mayor Kasim Reed explained organizers of the event had gone about things all wrong.

“This event promoter did not have a security plan,” Reed said, according to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. “In fact, the team that was responsible for preparing the security plan for this event promoter quit on Tuesday of last week. So he was attempting to hold a two-day hip-hop event without police protection.”

Despite the lack of permit, a stage was reportedly erected Oct. 22, the fest was advertised on a local radio station and acts began performing, which the mayor said created “an untenable situation” for city officials who had to announce the show wouldn’t go on in front of a crowd of hundreds.

“I believe they placed lives at risk this weekend,” Reed said.

Occupy Atlanta leader Tim Franzen responded during the conference that officials were “never in danger,” the AJC reported, calling the mayor’s statements “spin” and “B.S.”

“Why don’t you address what brought us here in the first place – 30,000 homeless, foreclosures,” Franzen said.