A wide range of activist individuals and organizations, from a local rabbi to Black Voters Matter, residents of the Atlanta area, and people from across the US, are gearing up to “week of action” this week to protect a forest southeast of the city in Georgia as part of a protest movement against a project called “City of Cops”.

The protest comes less than two months after police shot and killed activist Manuel Páez Terrano, or “Tortugito,” one of dozens of camps in the forest. The fatal killing of an environmental protester, the first of its kind in US history, raised the profile of the movement at the national level and at the international level.

It has also heightened tensions between local governments and law enforcement on the one hand, and a diverse coalition of individuals and groups seeking to protect the forest. “This is the first week of action since the state killed someone,” said Marlon Kautz, an organizer Atlanta Solidarity Fund, which provides bail and other resources for protesters who have been arrested. “The whole character, mood and status of the struggle has changed dramatically…. [and] it is much more realistic – both for us and for the state.”

The key question is whether this Week of Action, which includes a music festival in the forest; the Jewish Sabbath, or Friday evening, service; herbal workshops; and the “Know Your Rights” workshop will bring people back to camping and sitting on trees in the forest.

There is also the question of whether the various marches planned, including those led by a handful of black-led organizations, will result in additional arrests in the state Accusation of “domestic terrorism”. that 18 activists are already on trial.

The land in question is called South River Forest on municipal maps, and activists call it “Willauni Forest,” a Muskogee (Creek) word meaning “brown water.” At least 85 acres of forest are at risk from the $90 million police and fire training center, which opponents of the project have dubbed “Police City.”

Another 40 acres are at risk from Ryan Millsap, the former owner of Blackhall Film Studios, who struck a deal with DeKalb County in 2020 to exchange the land, which is used as a public park, for another piece of land nearby. That deal has been put on hold due to a lawsuit by a local environmental organization, and residents of surrounding areas continue to use the park for recreation.

The two parts of the forest are separated by Intrenchment Creek, which is the municipal name for the public park. A pair of threats to the forest prompted dozens of “forest defenders” to camp in the woods on both sides of the creek in late 2021. Tortugita was camped on the side of Intrenchment Creek Park on Jan. 18 when dozens of officers from the Atlanta and DeKalb police departments Georgia The Bureau of Investigation (GBI), the Georgia State Patrol, and possibly the FBI swept through the woods to mop up the activists.

GBI, now assigned investigating of the shooting, said Tartugita first fired his gun at a state trooper. The agency also published a document showing that the activist had purchased a gun. Despite the presence of several agencies, the GBI also said there was no body camera or other footage of the shooting.

Since the shooting, the forest appears to have been cleared of tree sitters and campers on both sides of the creek, activists said. The city of Atlanta, which owns the land where Cop City is planned to build, announced at a recent press conference that DeKalb County, where the land is located, has issued a so-called “disturbance permit” — meaning work on the training center can begin. .

And although Tartugita’s death – the first time US law enforcement has killed an environmental activist during a protest – attracted attention international media, members Congress and global environmental organizationsResidents of the Atlanta area, who oppose the training center, recently appealed to local authorities.

In protest at Tartugita’s murder, a member of the “community stakeholder advisory committee” appointed to secure local input for the training center has resigned. Another member appealed the land disturbance permit to the county’s zoning board, which will be heard in April, arguing that work at the learning center would discharge sediment into the creek, in violation of the Clean Water Act and state law.

Meanwhile, the specter of “protectors of the forest” that may have arrived during the Week of Action prompted local Clayton State University to send an email to students warning them not to be drawn into the week’s activities before attempting to infiltrate the site of the planned training center, but it is guarded by more than 100 Atlanta officers around the clock, at a cost of $1 million a month, according to a recent filing a lawsuit.

“APD and the Georgia Bureau of Investigation have taken a zero-tolerance stance toward protesters attempting to enter the proposed training site,” the email said, “[and protesters] will be arrested and prosecuted to the full extent of the law.” The email said nothing about the public park area of ​​the forest.

Most of surroundings of the forest have a large black population, and local governments have neglected the area for decades, resulting in industrial and other pollution.

Kamov Franklin, the founder of Builders of the social movementgrassroots organizing group, is helping to organize a black-led march during the Week of Action to draw attention to opposition in his community to a training center that he says is accelerating militarization and police brutality, and ignoring community input on how to better use the land.

That would help justify the “outside agitator” image that Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp, Atlanta Mayor Andre Dickens and others have used to describe opposition to “Police City,” based on the out-of-state addresses of most of the forest rangers arrested. to date, he said.

“The idea is to have a march with black-led groups centered around the history of Atlanta and the protest movements that we’ve always been a part of,” Franklin said.

While it’s impossible to know how many people will come to the week’s events and from where – there are no tickets to buy or sell and all work is done autonomously and largely anonymously – Sam, part Atlanta Community Press Collectivean anonymous group of activists who use journalistic methods to monitor “Cop City” said they had received inquiries from Spain, Canada, New York, Minnesota and California in the past week alone.

“My impression is that there will be a lot of people and a variety of events, which is probably the most accurate representation of the breadth of this movement ever,” they said.

A wide range of activist individuals and organizations, from a local rabbi to Black Voters Matter, residents of the Atlanta area, and people from across the US, are gearing up to “week of action” this week to protect a forest southeast of the city in Georgia as part of a protest movement against a project called “City of Cops”.

The protest comes less than two months after police shot and killed activist Manuel Páez Terrano, or “Tortugito,” one of dozens of camps in the forest. The fatal killing of an environmental protester, the first of its kind in US history, raised the profile of the movement at the national level and at the international level.

It has also heightened tensions between local governments and law enforcement on the one hand, and a diverse coalition of individuals and groups seeking to protect the forest. “This is the first week of action since the state killed someone,” said Marlon Kautz, an organizer Atlanta Solidarity Fund, which provides bail and other resources for protesters who have been arrested. “The whole character, mood and status of the struggle has changed dramatically…. [and] it is much more realistic – both for us and for the state.”

The key question is whether this Week of Action, which includes a music festival in the forest; the Jewish Sabbath, or Friday evening, service; herbal workshops; and the “Know Your Rights” workshop will bring people back to camping and sitting on trees in the forest.

There is also the question of whether the various marches planned, including those led by a handful of black-led organizations, will result in additional arrests in the state Accusation of “domestic terrorism”. that 18 activists are already on trial.

The land in question is called South River Forest on municipal maps, and activists call it “Willauni Forest,” a Muskogee (Creek) word meaning “brown water.” At least 85 acres of forest are at risk from the $90 million police and fire training center, which opponents of the project have dubbed “Police City.”

Another 40 acres are at risk from Ryan Millsap, the former owner of Blackhall Film Studios, who struck a deal with DeKalb County in 2020 to exchange the land, which is used as a public park, for another piece of land nearby. That deal has been put on hold due to a lawsuit by a local environmental organization, and residents of surrounding areas continue to use the park for recreation.

The two parts of the forest are separated by Intrenchment Creek, which is the municipal name for the public park. A pair of threats to the forest prompted dozens of “forest defenders” to camp in the woods on both sides of the creek in late 2021. Tortugita was camped on the side of Intrenchment Creek Park on Jan. 18 when dozens of officers from the Atlanta and DeKalb police departments Georgia The Bureau of Investigation (GBI), the Georgia State Patrol, and possibly the FBI swept through the woods to mop up the activists.

GBI, now assigned investigating of the shooting, said Tartugita first fired his gun at a state trooper. The agency also published a document showing that the activist had purchased a gun. Despite the presence of several agencies, the GBI also said there was no body camera or other footage of the shooting.

Since the shooting, the forest appears to have been cleared of tree sitters and campers on both sides of the creek, activists said. The city of Atlanta, which owns the land where Cop City is planned to build, announced at a recent press conference that DeKalb County, where the land is located, has issued a so-called “disturbance permit” — meaning work on the training center can begin. .

And although Tartugita’s death – the first time US law enforcement has killed an environmental activist during a protest – attracted attention international media, members Congress and global environmental organizationsResidents of the Atlanta area, who oppose the training center, recently appealed to local authorities.

In protest at Tartugita’s murder, a member of the “community stakeholder advisory committee” appointed to secure local input for the training center has resigned. Another member appealed the land disturbance permit to the county’s zoning board, which will be heard in April, arguing that work at the learning center would discharge sediment into the creek, in violation of the Clean Water Act and state law.

Meanwhile, the specter of “protectors of the forest” that may have arrived during the Week of Action prompted local Clayton State University to send an email to students warning them not to be drawn into the week’s activities before attempting to infiltrate the site of the planned training center, but it is guarded by more than 100 Atlanta officers around the clock, at a cost of $1 million a month, according to a recent filing a lawsuit.

“APD and the Georgia Bureau of Investigation have taken a zero-tolerance stance toward protesters attempting to enter the proposed training site,” the email said, “[and protesters] will be arrested and prosecuted to the full extent of the law.” The email said nothing about the public park area of ​​the forest.

Most of surroundings of the forest have a large black population, and local governments have neglected the area for decades, resulting in industrial and other pollution.

Kamov Franklin, the founder of Builders of the social movementgrassroots organizing group, is helping to organize a black-led march during the Week of Action to draw attention to opposition in his community to a training center that he says is accelerating militarization and police brutality, and ignoring community input on how to better use the land.

That would help justify the “outside agitator” image that Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp, Atlanta Mayor Andre Dickens and others have used to describe opposition to “Police City,” based on the out-of-state addresses of most of the forest rangers arrested. to date, he said.

“The idea is to have a march with black-led groups centered around the history of Atlanta and the protest movements that we’ve always been a part of,” Franklin said.

While it’s impossible to know how many people will come to the week’s events and from where – there are no tickets to buy or sell and all work is done autonomously and largely anonymously – Sam, part Atlanta Community Press Collectivean anonymous group of activists who use journalistic methods to monitor “Cop City” said they had received inquiries from Spain, Canada, New York, Minnesota and California in the past week alone.

“My impression is that there will be a lot of people and a variety of events, which is probably the most accurate representation of the breadth of this movement ever,” they said.