By: Adrianna Carpenter
A. Beyond the Cement and Glass: What is Cop City?
In southeast Atlanta, there is a forest. This forest is home to wetlands that filter rainwater and prevent flooding.[1] It is also one of the last breeding grounds for many amphibians in the region, as well as being an important migration site for wading birds.[2] Community members enjoy walking their dogs along the creeks, exploring the trees, and spending time under one of the last urban canopies in the nation.[3]
This forest is part of the homelands historically occupied by the Muscogee Creek peoples.[4] In the 1830s, the Indigenous peoples were forcibly removed from the area, so that the forest could be partially cleared and sold as a plantation.[5] In the early 1900s, on the site of the plantation, the State of Georgia opened a prison farm where inmates were forced to perform unpaid agricultural labor.[6] This labor camp was later abandoned.[7] On January 15, 2003 the DeKalb County government received roughly 136 acres of forest from the Trust for Public Land to create a park for public use.[8] The land was given to DeKalb County with the stipulation that it “shall be used in perpetuity as park property.”[9] This land borders the roughly 150-acre city-owned former labor camp now called the Old Atlanta Prison Farm.[10] The Atlanta Police Department currently uses part of the city-owned land as a firing range.[11] The remaining land is officially called the South River Forest,[12] but is also known as “Weelaunee,” by forest defenders, after the Creek name for the South River and for the forest.[13]
The Atlanta Police Department seeks to turn 381 acres of the Weelaunee/South River forest into a tactical training compound.[14] The plan was publicly unveiled in October 2017, when the Atlanta Police Foundation debuted its “Vision Safe Atlanta – Public Safety Action Plan,” which explained the need for a new public safety training venue and proposed the clearing of the Weelaunee/South River Forest for the project.[15] The project has a budget of over $90 million.[16] It is backed by the Atlanta Police Foundation and its corporate patrons like Bank of America, AT&T, Coca-Cola, Delta, Home Depot, and the Koch brothers, among others.[17] It is slated to include a mock city where police will train with firearms, tear gas, helicopters, and explosive devices.[18] This training is to combat and suppress protest and mass unrest like the 2020 George Floyd uprisings.[19] This project has been popularly dubbed: Cop City.
B. We Climb the Same Hill, but Make Our Own Paths: Tactics of Opponents to Cop City
The community outcry against the Atlanta Police Department’s project has coalesced into sustained action under the umbrella of Stop Cop City/Defend the Forest. This is a broad, decentralized, autonomous movement that employs a wide diversity of tactics all with the goal of protecting the forest and stopping the construction of Cop City.[20]
To date, people have called in to city council meetings, filed petitions and lawsuits, voted against city councilpersons who support the projects, marched, and hosted rallies and educational events. People have vandalized property of the Police Foundation as well as contractors, engaged in nonviolent civil disobedience including in the form of “tree-sits”, hosted forest tours and educational events, rallied near the homes of politicians and business executives in order to ask them to reconsider their decisions or projects, and disabled or otherwise nonviolently sabotaged construction equipment. Additionally people have been building encampments inside of the forest itself.[21]
A current tactic worth highlighting is the petition to force a ballot initiative. On September 11, 2023, protesters against Cop City submitted about 108,000 signatures to try to force a ballot initiative that could prevent the training facility from being built.[22] If enough signatures are verified in the ballot initiative effort, citizens will be able to voice their opinions at the ballot box.[23] The fight over Cop City will come down to a vote.[24]
C. On Certain Days: A Timeline of State Repression of Stop Cop City/Defend the Forest
- 8, 2021, the Atlanta City Council voted 11-4 to authorize the lease ordinance despite more than 17 hours of public comment from Cop City opponents.[25]
- May 17, 2022, police arrested eight protesters while attempting to clear them from part of the Weelaunee/South River Forest. Authorities accused some of the protesters of throwing firebombs.[26]
- December 15, 2022, police arrested and charged five protesters with domestic terrorism. A week later, crews begin demolition at Intrenchment Creek Park within the Weelaunee/South River Forest.[27]
- January 18, 2023, forest defender Manuel “Tortuguita” Terán, was fatally shot by Georgia State Patrol.[28] Authorities stated officers returned fire after Terán shot a state trooper in the abdomen.[29] The current evidence available seems to indicate that the trooper was hit by “friendly fire.” Terán’s death was followed by downtown Atlanta protests.[30] In response, police arrested and charged six people with domestic terrorism accusing them of some nonviolent property destruction.[31] On January 26, 2023, Gov. Brian Kemp mobilized the National Guard after declaring a state of emergency in order to end the mass protests.[32]
- March 5, 2023, a protest was held at the Intrenchment Creek construction site.[33] Several protesters threw rocks and firebombs, resulting in the destruction of several pieces of construction equipment.[34] Police subsequently raided the nearby South River Music Festival and detained 35 people, of which 12 were released and the remaining 23 were charged with domestic terrorism.[35] Festival attendees have accused police of selectively charging protestors from out of state, while releasing Georgia residents, in order to further the narrative that “outside agitators” coordinated and controlled the protests.[36] There is no information contained in the warrants that directly connects any of the defendants to illegal actions.[37]
- April 19, 2023, a DeKalb County Medical Examiner autopsy determined Terán received at least 57 gunshot wounds, causing their death.[38] The Medical Examiner also found that they were sitting on the ground with their hands up when they were shot.[39] The Medical Examiner also found no evidence that Terán had shot at the police first.[40]
- May 2, 2023, three activists were arrested and charged with felony intimidation of a police officer and misdemeanor stalking, with penalties up to 20 years in prison, for posting fliers and identifying the officers that shot Terán.[41]
- May 24, 2023, the Atlanta Community Press Collective was the first to report that Atlanta taxpayers will be responsible for paying substantially more to build the Cop City than city officials had said previously due to a lease-back agreement provision in the funding ordinance.[42] This report was cited by multiple Cop City opponents who spoke at an Atlanta City Council Finance Committee meeting later that day.[43] The speakers asked that members of the committee not advance Cop City’s funding ordinance. The committee ultimately voted 5-1 to advance the legislation to continue to fund Cop City.[44]
- May 31, 2023, law enforcement officers raided an Edgewood neighborhood home owned by Network for Strong Communities nonprofit executives Marlon Scott Kautz and Adele Maclean.[45] The nonprofit is affiliated with the Atlanta Solidarity Fund which crowdfunds bail for protestors. Both Kautz and Maclean were arrested along with Savannah D. Patterson.[46] They were charged with money laundering and charity fraud for crowdfunding and bailing out protestors.[47]
- September 5, 2023, 61 people were indicted on RICO charges.[48] The attorney general’s office said all defendants are “members” of Defend the Atlanta Forest.[49] Carr described Defend the Atlanta Forest as an “anarchist, anti-police, and anti-business extremist organization.”[50] It should be noted that it is not illegal to be an anarchist, anti-police, or anti-business nor is the movement to defend the forest contained within any one organization.
D. The Future Without the Forest
If Cop City is built, it will be the largest police training facility in the United States.[51] Cop City will train police forces not just from Georgia but from all over the world.[52] Other cities and states will likely build their own Cop Cities based on the Atlanta blueprint.[53] Supporters of Cop City argue it will give local police and fire personnel a better, more cost-effective place to train.[54] Opponents say Cop City will be devastating for the climate resilience in Atlanta, encroach on sacred Indigenous land, and condition a new generation of police officers to go on to commit acts of brutality.[55] Opponents also contend a majority of Atlanta residents do not want their tax dollars used to help build Cop City.[56] However, despite the backlash, the State of Georgia has doubled and tripled down, seeking to steamroll public dissent and chill protest in the furtherance of building Cop City.
Remember, the Forest is everywhere.
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[1] Charles Bethea. The New Fight Over an Old Forest in Atlanta, The New Yorker (Aug. 3, 2022), https://www.newyorker.com/news/letter-from-the-south/the-new-fight-over-an-old-forest-in-atlanta
[2] Id.
[3] Id.
[4] Id.
[5] Id.
[6] Id.
[7] Id.
[8] Emergency Mot. for TRO and Prelim. Inj. Relief. 8. Dec. 21, 2022. Civil Action File No. 21CV1931. https://unicornriot.ninja/wp-content/uploads/2023/01/emergency-motion-for-tro-and-preliminary-injunctive-relief-12-22-22.pdf (CANNOT FIGURE OUT HOW TO CITE THIS)
[9] Id.
[10]Atlanta Community Press Collective, A Brief History of the Atlanta City Prison Farm, https://atlpresscollective.com/2021/08/14/history-of-the-atlanta-city-prison-farm/
[11] Kenneth Dickerman, Activists in Atlanta-area forest resist development dubbed ‘Cop City’, Wash. Post (Jan. 23, 2022), 2https://www.washingtonpost.com/photography/2023/01/23/activists-atlanta-area-forest-resist-development-dubbed-cop-city/
[12] Charles Bethea. The New Fight Over an Old Forest in Atlanta, The New Yorker (Aug. 3, 2022), https://www.newyorker.com/news/letter-from-the-south/the-new-fight-over-an-old-forest-in-atlanta
[13] Id.
[14] Aja Arnold, Atlanta Poised to Approve Massive Police Training Facility Despite Public Opposition, The Intercept, (Aug. 11, 2021), https://theintercept.com/2021/08/11/atlanta-police-training-center/
[15] Vision Safe Atlanta. Atlanta Police Foundation. (Oct. 2017), https://atlantapolicefoundation.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/VISION-SAFE-ATLANTA_technology-and-innovation.pdf
[16] R.J. Rico, Atlanta project decried as ‘Cop City’ gets funding approval from City Council, A.P. News (June 6, 2023), https://apnews.com/article/cop-city-vote-atlanta-city-council-99e9dfbd5a3d83d2e564c34b7c61c686
[17] Morgan Simon, Cops And Donuts Go Together More Than You Thought: The Corporations Funding Cop City In Atlanta, Forbes (Mar. 14, 2023), https://www.forbes.com/sites/morgansimon/2023/03/14/cops-and-donuts-go-together-more-than-you-thought-the-corporations-funding-cop-city-in-atlanta/?sh=36601dc86bc6
[18] Charles Bethea. The New Fight Over an Old Forest in Atlanta, The New Yorker (Aug. 3, 2022), https://www.newyorker.com/news/letter-from-the-south/the-new-fight-over-an-old-forest-in-atlanta
[19] Id.
[20]Defend the Atlanta Forest, https://defendtheatlantaforest.org/ (last visited Sept. 15, 2023).
[21] FAQ. Defend the Atlanta Forest, https://defendtheatlantaforest.org/ (last visited Sept. 15, 2023).
[22] Sanya Mansoor, ‘Cop City’ Fight Escalates With Effort to Put the Controversial Training Facility on the Ballot, Time Mag. (Sept. 11, 2023), https://time.com/6312383/cop-city-signatures-ballot-initiative/
[23] Id.
[24] Id.
[25] Chauncey Alcorn, Key Dates and Moments in Atlanta’s ‘Cop City’ Controversy, Capital B Atlanta, (June 5, 2023), https://atlanta.capitalbnews.org/cop-city-timeline/
[26] Id.
[27] Id.
[28] Timothy Pratt, ‘Malice or ineptitude’: probe into police killing of eco-activist frustrates family, The Guardian, (May 4, 2023) https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2023/may/04/cop-city-atlanta-manuel-paez-teran-death-autopsy
[29] Id.
[30] Id.
[31] Chauncey Alcorn, Key Dates and Moments in Atlanta’s ‘Cop City’ Controversy, Capital B Atlanta, (June 5, 2023), https://atlanta.capitalbnews.org/cop-city-timeline/
[32] Id.
[33] Id.
[34] Id.
[35] R.J. Rico, Muddy clothes? ‘Cop City’ activists question police evidence, A.P. News, (Mar. 23, 2023) https://apnews.com/article/cop-city-protest-domestic-terrorism-atlanta-6d114e109d489d316f588f51c7cab0cc
[36] Id.
[37] Id.
[38] Timothy Pratt, ‘Malice or ineptitude’: probe into police killing of eco-activist frustrates family, The Guardian, (May 4, 2023) https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2023/may/04/cop-city-atlanta-manuel-paez-teran-death-autopsy
[39] Id.
[40] Id.
[41] Natasha Lennard and Akela Lacy, Activists Face Felonies for Distributing Flyers on “Cop City” Protester Killing, The Intercept, (May 2, 2023) https://theintercept.com/2023/05/02/cop-city-activists-arrest-flyers/
[42] Chauncey Alcorn, Key Dates and Moments in Atlanta’s ‘Cop City’ Controversy, Capital B Atlanta, (June 5, 2023), https://atlanta.capitalbnews.org/cop-city-timeline/
[43] Id.
[44] Id.
[45] Jocelyn Simonson, The Details of the Atlanta Bail Fund Arrest Are More Horrific Than First Described, Slate, (June 1, 2023) https://slate.com/news-and-politics/2023/06/cop-city-tortuguita-atlanta-bail-fund-arrest-horror.html
[46] Id.
[47] Id.
[48] Office of the Attorney General.Carr: 61 Indicted in Fulton County in Atlanta Public Safety Training Center Investigation. Georgia.Gov (Sept. 5, 2023),
[49] Id.
[50] Ryan Young, Kevin Conlon and Holly Yan, 61 ‘Cop City’ protesters indicted on RICO charges. Opponents question the timeline and motivation, CNN, (Sept. 6, 2023) https://www.cnn.com/2023/09/06/us/cop-city-protesters-indicted-rico/index.html
[51] https://abcnews.go.com/US/atlantas-cop-city-people-protesting/story?id=96716095
[52] Id.
[53] Id.
[54] Kiara Alfonseca, What is Atlanta’s ‘Cop City’ and why are people protesting it?, ABC News, (Mar. 6, 2023) https://atlantapolicefoundation.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/VISION-SAFE-ATLANTA_technology-and-innovation.pdf
[55] FAQ. Defend the Atlanta Forest, https://defendtheatlantaforest.org/ (last visited Sept. 15, 2023).
[56] Id.