Cop City Will Never Be Built

The background: The fight to save the Weelaunee forest in Atlanta from being cleared to build a massive police-training facility commonly known as “Cop City,” has united climate justice activists, abolitionists and community organizers.

Breaking News: After a 16+ hour Atlanta City Council meeting, to which over 1,000 Atlanta residents showed up to speak out against Cop City, the Atlanta City Council decided to ignore their constituents and voted this morning to approve millions in funding for Cop City with a 11-4 vote.

The grassroots efforts to Stop Cop City have been tremendous!

People started lining up at Atlanta City Hall yesterday morning to give public comments in opposition to Cop City, and stayed until the early morning hours today. The movement is strong, undeterred by this unconscionable vote and it will #StopCopCity. A vast network of organizations and people have been resisting the project for over two years. The movement has utilized a wide range of strategies, from community organizing, to direct action, call-in and email campaigns, and legal interventions which have successfully delayed construction of the project.

In response to the strong social movement organizing, state repression has increased as well.

In January, police shot and killed 26-year-old Manuel Paez Terán, known as “Tortuguita,” making them the first environmental activist to be killed by police in US history.
Dozens of forest defenders have been charged with "domestic terrorism" and been unjustly incarcerated.
Three activists are facing felony charges for handing out flyers about the killing of Tortuguita.
Last week, in another brazen attack on movement infrastructure, three organizers of the Atlanta Solidarity fund were arrested in a militarized police raid.

These attempts to intimidate and destroy the Cop City movement will fail if we continue to support and follow the lead of groups on the ground.

Among the CJA member groups who have been active in the #StopCopCity fight are Cooperation Jackson, Fang Collective, Indigenous Environmental Network, Rising Tide North America, the Ruckus Society and others.