Over 40 people are facing domestic terrorism charges and possibly decades in prison for protesting the construction of “Cop City.” One protester, Manuel “Tortuguita” Teran, was shot 57 times and killed by the police. These absurd charges of domestic terrorism and the police murder of a protester show an outrageous escalation of repression against those who stand up against injustices by the system. We must stand with the Cop City Protesters and defend people’s right to resist.
Cop City is a proposed $90 million police training facility that will destroy 85 acres of forestland in the Weelaunee Forest in Atlanta, Georgia. It will imitate structures of real cities to prepare police for urban warfare. It will have multiple gun ranges and ultimately help turn police into paramilitary forces so they are prepared to suppress protests and uprisings. It’s supported by the local government structure, including Atlanta Mayor Andrew Dickens, funded by multiple wealthy corporations, and spearheaded by the Atlanta Police Foundation.
Initial attempts to protest and lobby the Atlanta City Council to stop the construction of Cop City failed, so people occupied the forest itself to block the project. “Forest defenders,” much like the “water defenders” who fought the construction of the Dakota Access Pipeline in 2016, built barricades and destroyed and burned construction equipment to physically prevent Cop City from being built.
The Atlanta Police Department, the Georgia Bureau of Investigation, the FBI, and Homeland Security joined forces to pave the way for Cop City. On December 15, 2022 and again on January 18, 2023 they carried out multi-agency military-style raids of the forest site, arresting over a dozen protestors. In the second raid, police shot Manuel “Tortuguita” Teran 57 times, claiming it was self-defense. However, the official autopsy report showed no evidence that Tortuguita shot a gun, and an independent autopsy report states that they were most likely sitting with their hands raised when they were murdered. So far the police have refused to release body cam footage of the murder.
The police murder of an activist and the possible 35-year penalty for domestic terrorism charges that dozens of protesters are facing have outraged people. Many have come to their defense and joined the struggle. Students and professors at Morehouse College, an HBCU in Atlanta, have denounced Cop City. Dozens of human rights, environmental and legal organizations have also signed a letter demanding that the domestic terrorism charges be dropped. In March, the resistance grew to an organized week of actions that included solidarity protests across different cities, a day of prayer and action led by religious leaders from numerous denominations, and a two-day music festival defiantly held inside the occupied Weelaunee Forest.
As the resistance broadened, the repression continued. Police raided the music festival, using the destruction of equipment in a different part of the park as an excuse to arrest dozens for simply attending. They charged 23 people with domestic terrorism and cited evidence as flimsy as having “muddy shoes.” Then on April 28, 2023, three more people were arrested in Bartow County, 40 miles outside of Atlanta, for distributing flyers with the name of one of the cops responsible for Tortuguita’s murder. They’re facing 20 years in jail for felony charges of intimidating and stalking an officer.
Mass arrests, collective punishment, and potentially decades in prison are part of a dramatic escalation in repression against those that protest and dissent, especially in southern states. The domestic terrorism charges against 40+ people are political prosecutions designed to intimidate, silence and prevent people from standing up against the system and its brutality. Meanwhile, projects like Cop City are designed to train and prepare paramilitary police forces to suppress future protest and uprisings.
We must stand with and support the Cop City Protesters. Be part of a summer of outreach and resistance and building support for all those that have been arrested and are facing charges.
What you can do:
- Call Georgia Attorney General Chris Carr’s office at 404-458-3600 to demand they drop the domestic terrorism charges and release the Cop City Protesters
- Print and distribute the flyer below.
- Email daretostrugglenyc@protonmail.com to connect with street teams getting out the flyer all summer.
- Donate to the Atlanta Solidarity Fund to support the defendants.
Dare to Struggle 