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By: Matt Scott Earlier this year, multiple police agencies engaged in a mass raid of the Weelaunee Forest, destroying campsites that existed in the forest for over a year, and a GSP swat team killed forest defender Manuel “Tortuguita” Esteban Paez Terán. Forest Defender’s permanent occupation of Weelaunee ended after that raid, but the movement continued… Read more
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The land known as the Weelaunee Forest, or South River Forest, is today under threat on two fronts: a proposed police training facility, and a land swap between DeKalb County and movie industry executive Ryan Millsap. This map is intended to be a guide to the basic geography and jurisdictional boundaries of the area. We… Read more
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The Defend the Forest movement, an autonomous coalition of individuals and organizations across a growing swath of ideological positions, plans to launch off its fifth week of action at 11:00am on Saturday, March 4 at Gresham Park with a protest and rally, followed by a two day music festival. From March 4 – 11, the… Read more
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The Community Safety and Police Violence project of the Southern Center for Human Rights will host the last of seven town halls intended to engage, educate, and gather input from Atlanta residents about policing, violence, and community safety. The project held the first six town halls in person and in each of Atlanta’s six police… Read more
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“Come with your vestments, robes, and shawls. Come with your sacred texts and teachings. Come with your spiritual power to protect this sacred place,” says a letter by a coalition of clergy and faith leaders who are calling for fellow religious leaders to support forest defenders and join the upcoming Defend the Forest Week of Action… Read more
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In the spring of 2021, a dear friend of mine asked a question: “I wonder if there are graves there?” They were referring to the ruins of the City of Atlanta prison farm. At the time, the news was dominated by stories about the mass, unmarked graves discovered on the grounds of residential schools in… Read more
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Judge Thomas Cox of the Fulton County Superior Court ruled against a temporary restraining order, while ordering the Atlanta Police Foundation (APF) “immediately coordinate daily inspections of the property and pay for the same.” On Thursday, each side was given 20-30 minutes to speak on a series of questions laid out by the judge. According… Read more
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Residents living near the site of the proposed Atlanta Public Safety Training Center, commonly known as “Cop City,” reported contractors engaging in construction work Monday morning, despite the appeal filed on behalf of Community Stakeholder Advisory Committee member and local resident Amy Taylor last week. According to Jon Schwartz, the lawyer for the appeal, filing… Read more
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In an email exchange provided to ACPC, Dave Wilkinson, President and CEO of the Atlanta Police Foundation (APF) informs the foundation’s lawyer that APF plans to continue construction of Cop City in the Weelaunee Forest despite a recent appeal that stayed the use of the Land Disturbance Permit. Continuing construction while an appeal is under… Read more
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Second Cop City contractor has funding ties to project, leads destruction efforts in Weelaunee on Monday. Escorted by multiple armed law enforcement agencies (Atlanta Police Department, DeKalb County Police Department, Georgia State Patrol, Georgia Bureau of Investigations, DeKalb County DA, Georgia DA, and Georgia Department of Natural Resources), sub-contractors for the Atlanta Police Foundation’s (APF)… Read more
