Stop Cop City: To Defend A Forest

Stop Cop City: To Defend A Forest

As the country grappled with the aftermath of the 2020 uprising, a new anti-police struggle emerged in Atlanta, Georgia. In 2022, Garrison Davis traveled to Atlanta to report on protests surrounding the construction of a controversial police training facility being built in the Weelaunee Forest on the edge of the city. Over three years, Atlanta ironically became a training ground for anarchists, while the state tested strategies for the next generation of counterinsurgency tactics.

Episodes

May 5, 2022 82 mins

Garrison travels to Atlanta Georgia to talk with Forest Defenders who are attempting to prevent the construction of a massive militarized Police training facility. 

https://defendtheatlantaforest.com/
https://scenes.noblogs.org/
https://crimethinc.com/2022/04/11/the-city-in-the-forest-reinventing-resistance-for-an-age-of-ecological-collapse-and-police-militarization

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Learn how the movement evolved after the city council vote. In part 2 we get into tactics and hear more of the conversations with Forest Defenders from Garrison's trip to the Atlanta Forest.

https://defendtheatlantaforest.com/
https://stopreevesyoung.com/
https://opencollective.com/forest-justice-defense-fund
https://scenes.noblogs.org/
warriorup.noblogs.org

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June 6, 2022 38 mins

An update on Defend the Atlanta Forest discussing what’s happened the past month from the Week of Action up to the current situation. 

https://scenes.noblogs.org/ 
https://defendtheatlantaforest.org/
https://twitter.com/defendATLforest
https://actionnetwork.org/fundraising/contribute-to-the-atlanta-solidarity-fund 

 

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We talk with folks from the Atlanta Solidarity Fund and  Anti-Repression Committee about the tactics of State repression and bail fund organizing within the struggle to Defend the Atlanta Forest. 
https://atlsolidarity.org

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The Georgia State Patrol kill a forest defender during a police raid on the Weelaunee Forest. Garrison travels to Atlanta to talk with people in the movement; this episode covers the police's escalation of violence and what happened the day of the shooting.

https://www.gofundme.com/f/for-family-of-manuel-tortuguita-paez-teran 

Music by the Narcissist Cookbook and Propaganda.

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Friends, loved ones, and comrades of Tortuguita share memories and stories of them. The Friday after the police killing, a vigil for Tort is held at Weelaunee People's Park.

https://stopcop.city/memories-of-tort/

Music by the Narcissist Cookbook and Propaganda.

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Police and politicians continue to intensify repression against the movement with domestic terrorism charges and unprecedented high bail costs. Meanwhile, a protest in downtown Atlanta ends with a police car in flames.

https://atlsolidarity.org/
https://actionnetwork.org/fundraising/contribute-to-the-atlanta-solidarity-fund

Music by the Narcissist Cookbook and Propaganda.

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A Week of Action is planned for March 4th as the city of Atlanta prepares to receive land disturbance permits. We discuss how the movement might evolve going forward.

Music by the Narcissist Cookbook and Propaganda.

https://www.stopcopcitysolidarity.org/
https://defendtheatlantaforest.org/ 
https://www.copcitysyllab.us/ 
https://www.srycampaign.org/ 
https://scenes.noblogs.org/ 
https://occupywallst.nyc/news/2023/2/1...

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A thousand people march to the Weelaunee forest to kick off the Defend the Atlanta Forest Week of Action. Later that night Zack Fox headlines a DIY music festival in the woods.

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A few hundred people march to the Cop City construction site and sabotage equipment, then police SWAT raid the nearby music festival and arrest 23 concert goers.

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The Clergy crash a city council meeting, people return to the forest for a Purim celebration, and activists are met with intense police repression during daily non-violent actions happening throughout downtown.

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Police repression intensifies as people march to the Atlanta Police Foundation. Over the weekend the cops raid a secondary encampment, and a memorial for Tortuguita is held in the Weelaunee Forest.

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A more critical look at the Week of Action and its aftermath. State repression continues as Intrenchment Creek Park is closed just days before clear cutting begins in the Weelaunee Forest. With Cop City construction scheduled for this summer, activist's search for avenues of resistance.

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May 26, 2023 44 mins

Garrison presents a brand new comedy special, compiled out of all the jokes, bits, goofs, and gaffs from the Week of Action this past March.

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After City Council approved Cop City construction funds in early June, people in Atlanta seek new paths of resistance during another Week of Action.

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As the Week of Action comes to a close, a resurgent wave of direct actions happen across the country.

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As construction for Cop City is set to begin imminently, a referendum to let Atlanta voters decide the fate of the facility faces voter suppression.

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March 18, 2024 44 mins

Sabotage attacks continue across the country as state repression intensifies. Meanwhile, organizers experiment with new forms of mass action.

https://givebutter.com/tLAvDE

https://www.freejack.co/

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November 24, 2025 54 mins

Garrison expounds on six phases of the Stop Cop City movement, its decline in momentum, and how Atlanta bridges the gap between the 2020 protests and new tactics of state repression being used nationwide in the current expansion of police power.

Sources:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F3dqH_lfh6g

https://www.policemag.com/articles/understanding-the-ooda-loop

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/article/2024/may/29/atlanta-police-co...

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