Atlanta Forest Defenders
Background
On September 8th 2021 the Atlanta City Council approved a plan to build an 85-acre police training center (otherwise called "Cop City") at the historical old Prison Farm site in unincorporated DeKalb County in southeast Atlanta. The police training center will be the largest in the country. [1] The project will cost approximately 90 million dollars with 30 million dollars coming from tax payers and the other 60 million being funded by the Atlanta Police foundation (APF.) [2] The land will be leased to the APF for 10 dollars a year.
The decision made by the City Council was met with strong opposition from many local residents. 1,100 Atlanta residents voiced their opinions to the council with approximately 70% of residents expressing their opposition to said development. [3] In addition to opposition from the general community 16 environmental action organizations signed an open letter urging the Atlanta City council to not approve the project. [4]
Forest Defenders directly opposed the construction of the Cop City by constructing encampments in the forest and erecting tree forts atop of trees. The encampments, and other communal structures, were erected for several months populated by a diverse group of individuals. The encampments were raided and reconstructed multiple times during 2022. [5]
On December 13th and 14th of 2022 the Atlanta SWAT alongside 8 separate federal, state, city and county police agencies violently raided and arrested several of the forest defenders. During the raid the forest defenders were fired upon with plastic bullets and tear gas canisters while being forced out of the forest at gun point. A total of 12 protestors were arrested during the two day long raid, with five individuals being charged with domestic terrorism charges and were denied bail. The Department of Homeland security has labeled an alleged group known as DTAF or Defend The Atlanta Forest as "Domestic Violent Extremists," but individuals involved in resistance to the cop city project deny that said group exists. [6]
Resistance to Cop City
Atlanta Prison Farm
Atlanta Police Foundation
Indigenous Presence In Region
- ↑ https://saportareport.com/public-safety-training-center-wins-city-council-approval-opponents-suggest-fight-to-continue/sections/reports/johnruch/
- ↑ https://news.littlesis.org/2022/11/15/meet-the-major-corporations-and-cultural-institutions-helping-build-cop-city-in-atlanta/
- ↑ https://decaturish.com/2022/09/cop-city-explained-a-look-at-the-ongoing-controversy-surrounding-police-training-center/
- ↑ https://www.sierraclub.org/georgia/blog/2021/08/SouthRiverForestLetter
- ↑ https://wagingnonviolence.org/2022/07/atlanta-plan-for-cop-city-sparks-web-of-resistance/
- ↑ https://unicornriot.ninja/2022/swat-teams-attack-atlanta-forest-encampments-activists-charged-with-terrorism/