Noise Demo Outside NYC Atlas Office pic.twitter.com/oLj3hOyflV
— Scenes from the Atlanta Forest (@scenesatl) June 8, 2022
— Scenes from the Atlanta Forest (@scenesatl) June 8, 2022
– Received anonymously over email
Tag: protest
Church of Michael Keller Regional Pre-Construction Director for Brasfield & Gorrie Visited
On June 5th, Pentacost Sunday, a few activists visited the Kairos Church
on Riverside Drive in Atlanta, GA. The occassion of this visit was to
bring awareness to the congregation that their fellow congregant,
Michael Keller, is engaged in unconscionable destruction of His Creation
for his role as Regional Pre-Construction Director in Brasfield &
Gorrie, the general contractor of the Atlanta Police Foundation’s
unpopular “Cop City” project in southeast Atlanta. Michael Keller and
his wife Mary Stansfield Keller appear to be devout believers, which is
why we visited the church with fliers, rather than simply their private
residence at 2325 Dellwood Dr NW, Atlanta Ga. It is our sincere hope
that Michael, with the support of his community, accept responsibility
for the destruction and unjustifiable cycle of harm and police armament
he is helping to construct, in the Cop City project. We are sure that he
will do his best.
We all want a safer community and future. The Cop City is not making
Michael safer, it will not make any of us safer.
Brasfield & Gorrie, please drop the contract with the Atlanta Police
Foundation.
Matthew 18:15-19
“15 “If your brother or sister[b] sins,[c] go and point out their fault,
just between the two of you. If they listen to you, you have won them
over. 16 But if they will not listen, take one or two others along, so
that ‘every matter may be established by the testimony of two or three
witnesses.’[d] 17 If they still refuse to listen, tell it to the church;
and if they refuse to listen even to the church, treat them as you would
a pagan or a tax collector.
18 “Truly I tell you, whatever you bind on earth will be[e] bound in
heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be[f] loosed in heaven.
19 “Again, truly I tell you that if two of you on earth agree about
anything they ask for, it will be done for them by my Father in heaven.
20 For where two or three gather in my name, there am I with them.”
-Received anonymously over email
A Message From A Tree sitter
They destroyed our camp, & sawed one of our platforms apart, but we still got up into same tree in opf near juvy to defend the forest, & we left a message for our oppressors & our tree sitter comrade has issued a statement:
“We are here today to stop the development of a police militarization facility, where police would train in tactics of repression and violence against the civilians of Atlanta. We are here today to stop a beautiful forest from being destroyed, to stop countless animals and plants from being exterminated from this place. Two incredibly important topics are at stake here today. Climate change and police violence are two of the most pressing issues affecting our society today, and they will only worsen if this facility is built. We cannot stand by as we sacrifice humanity’s future for a Cop City.”
-Wish
-Wish
– Received anonymously over email
BULLDOZER STOPPED IN ATL FOREST BY HORDE OF FOREST DEFENDERS- CALL TO ACTION
On June. 2nd, a horde of forest defenders were able to stop a bulldozer on the edge of the woods (that was being escorted by kkkops) from destroying the forest by throwing rocks, deploying fireworks, & shouting scary words!
However, cops are destroying forest defense infrastructure & we need all hands on deck to CONTINUE STOPPING THE CONSTRUCTION of cop city, & allow this scarred forest to heal.
Another tree sit has also gone up in the path our enemies plan to destroy for their racist training facility, & we need help both supporting & defending that zone!
We are welcoming ALL the tactics. Kate Bush flash mob when kkkops arrive? Fuck yeah. Frontline Action to stop machines of destruction? Fuck yeah. Please just get your sweet fucking feral ass down here.
Your house sitting gig & coffee shop job can wait– come occupy the forest, & if you got privilege, use it to throw down, as trees, community members & non-human animals are better than a clear cut lot with a militarized police training center.
The stakes are high & the forest is calling!
Come for the blackberries & community, & stay for the chaos!
Week of Action is June.2nd- till the Forest is safe!
Interested in rolling with Camp Copperhead?Drop a line to:
& We’ll get back to you soon!
– Received anonymously over email
Forest Defenders fire fireworks, throw rocks, and attack construction machine
Work stopped today, Thursday June 2, as a group of 10 forest defenders confronted a bulldozer in the forest just west of the juvy today. Forest defenders launched rocks and fireworks, yelling ‘get the fuck out of the woods’ as the machine was attacked. 4-5 workers, likely with Long Engineering, hid behind the bulldozer while one APD officer stood idly with his hands on his hips. Forest defenders retreated into the woods howling. No arrests were made.
We call upon anyone who wants to defend the forest and stop cop city to support the struggle by sowing chaos along the perimeter: plan a slow-moving car caravan on Constitution Rd, or a rally at the juvy.
Workers and pigs, we repeat: Stay the fuck out the woods.
-Received anonymously over email
Video Submission
— Scenes from the Atlanta Forest (@scenesatl) June 2, 2022
-Received anonymously over email
Police Raid Atlanta Forest Occupation
This is part of a series on the 3rd Week of Action.
https://unicornriot.ninja/2022/police-raid-atlanta-forest-occupation/
– article by Unicorn Riot
200 Protesters Marched Through Atlanta To Stop Cop City
This is part of a series on the 3rd Week of Action.
200 Protesters Marched Through Atlanta Yesterday To #StopCopCity
The Atlanta Police Foundation wants to destroy much of the remaining forest in the city to build a giant police training complex. Officers are very aggressive against protesters who oppose their favored project. pic.twitter.com/EgSWfzTNCY
— Unicorn Riot (@UR_Ninja) May 15, 2022
May 11 House Visit at Keith Johnson (Brasfield & Gorrie)
This is part of a series on the 3rd Week of Action.
On May 11, 30-40 people visited the home of Keith Lanier Johnson Jr. at 1268 Gordon Combs Rd NW, Kennesaw GA 30152.
Keith is the Eastern Regional President of Brasfield & Gorrie (B&G). B&G are the current general contractor for the Atlanta Police Foundation’s Cop City project in southeast Atlanta.
Now that Keith is no longer busy on the board of the Mount Paran Christian School, it seems he is managing the $142,327 of fines levied against his employer for safety and wage theft violations. He is also overseeing the destruction of grave sites, the leveling of a vital tree canopy, and the militarization of the American police force. It is for these reasons that community members went to his home at 6am.
The low-barrier fencing did not seem to deter assembled protesters from approaching the home directly in order to deliver fliers to Jr. Neighbors did not seem overly concerned with the assembled group when they approached the four building estate set back from the road. Hopefully Carolyn Paige Woodruff Johnson, Sarah E. Johnson, or Keith the younger were not bothered too much by the blow-back resulting from the decisions of Keith’s employers.
We hope that Keith is able to convince the two Magnus’s, currently sitting comfortably back home in Birmingham, that the current APF contract is untenable, and that there is an urgent need to cancel it. It could turn out that Keith personally is carrying to brunt of pressure for his bosses decisions.
Brasfield & Gorrie will eventually drop the Cop City contract. Anonymous groups are developing new methods for disincentivizing the project.
And they are getting closer.
-Received anonymously over email
March to defend the forest led by preschoolers
This is part of a series on the 3rd Week of Action.
“Stop Cop City!”
March to defend the forest takes streets in East Atlanta Village, lead by local preschools pic.twitter.com/QH7ggTuraT
— Defend the Atlanta Forest (@defendATLforest) May 14, 2022
BRASFIELD & GORRIE CORPORATE HQ IN ALABAMA ATTACKED
ON THE MORNING OF THE 13TH, THE WINDOWS AND GLASS DOORS TO THE BRASFIELD & GORRIE CORPORATE HQ AT 3021 7TH AVE S, BIRMINGHAM, AL 35233 WERE SMASHED. THE WORDS “DROP COP CITY OR ELSE” WERE SPRAYPAINTED ON THE WINDOWS. PAINT WAS APPLIED TO THE FRONT SIGN.LET IT SERVE AS A WARNING TO THE EXECUTIVES AT BRASFIELD & GORRIE; WE KNOW WHERE YOU WORK AND WE KNOW WHERE YOU SLEEP. YOUR HOUSES COULD BE NEXT. KEITH JOHNSON, MILLER GORRIE, JAMES GORRIE, YOU WILL DROP THIS CONTRACT EVENTUALLY, WHY WAIT TO SEE HOW FAR WE WILL GO?
– IN SOLIDARITY WITH THE STRUGGLE IN ATLANTA
-Received anonymously over email
ATLAS office windows smashed, vandalism in Albany NY
On the evening of may 10th I smashed 7 windows at the office building where the northeast offices of ATLAS are located in Albany, NY. I also tagged “ATLAS – STOP DESTROYING THE ATLANTA FOREST.” Destroying hundreds of acres of forest during the 6th greatest mass extinction of species to build a police training facility following one of the largest anti-police uprisings in decades is fucking disgusting. With this vandalism I urge ATLAS to do the right thing and drop any contracts with Brasfield and Gorrie and the Cop City project.
-some anarchist-
-Received anonymously over email
People Gather At The Atlanta Office Of Brasfield & Gorrie To Ask Them To Drop The Contract With The Atlanta Police Foundation
This is part of a series on the 3rd Week of Action.
People Gather At The Atlanta Office Of Brasfield & Gorrie To Ask Them To Drop The Contract With The Atlanta Police Foundation pic.twitter.com/pIqJZMszib
— Scenes from the Atlanta Forest (@scenesatl) May 16, 2022
We're probably going to hear more about this later, but you know what they say: "Fucking their shit up is worth a thousand words"… or something pic.twitter.com/O84WBhAAQb
— Scenes from the Atlanta Forest (@scenesatl) May 12, 2022
Bulldozer enters woods. Forest defenders repel them and the police.
This is part of a series on the 3rd Week of Action.
At 9:30am today, people inhabiting the Weelaunee Forest woke to the sounds of destruction.
A bulldozer marked "Dodd Drilling LLC" accompanied by 2 Dekalb Co cops had bulldozed a destructive path thru Intrenchment Creek public park, threatened by Blackhall Studios development. pic.twitter.com/GRDe74Dqa5
— Defend the Atlanta Forest (@defendATLforest) May 9, 2022
UPSIDE DOWN BLACK SEDAN BARRICADES SOUTH POWER LINE CUT PATHWAY TO ATLANTA FOREST
This is part of a series on the 3rd Week of Action.
… A black sedan barrelled it’s way into the south power cut blocking off a MAJOR entrance to the woods off Constitution Road across from Black Hall Studios Sunday night, May.8th, accompanied by a banner that states, “Fuck this World And It’s Cops”– kicking off the, “Week of Action,” to, “Defend the Forest,” in south Atlanta…
A huge ass bonfire along with a vast array of fireworks & feral friends silhouetted & serenaded the break in the forest that has now come to be one of the main zones to defend against police incursion into the woods so many people & non-human animals call home.
Cop City & Black Hall Studios will NEVER be built as long as Forest Defenders occupy these 500 or so collective acres of woods & comrades continue to engage in the practice that, “solidarity means attack,” in regards to fending off the kkkops, impending industrial & suburban sprawl into wild areas, & the generalized evil, “machines”.
“Fuck this World & It’s Cops,” denotes that we can build a better world than the brainwashed, authoritarian, colonized & greedy ass scum that aim to destroy anything they cannot easily destroy, subjugate, imprison, or pave over….
Stay Wild! Help keep/get your comrades & loved ones free!
Bring the War home & Make total destroy– for it is a “privilege” to be able to “choose” when some people “fight” the powers that be, as the poor, the houseless, the marginalized & disenfranchised must fight this battle EVERY DAY to merely keep existing ….
The kkkops won’t stop killing us & our friends unless we fight back! The Hollywood elite won’t keep clear cutting & destroying the earth unless we fight back! Focus on the shit that unifies our resistance & Fight Back!
“Fuck this World And It’s Cops,” means we fight back, & don’t go quietly into the night & we do NOT acquiesce to non-, consensual tyranny.
Destroy what you can & build what you must– in every sense of the words…Abolition on multiple levels!
May the upside down black sedan in the powerline cut pathway to the forest serve as a big-ass, “Fuck you & the cogs that help you operate,” to the Atlanta Police Foundation, APD, Dekalb County Police, Black Hall Studios, all their investors & sympathizers,& of course, Georgia Fucking Power.
FUCK THIS WORLD AND ITS COPS.
-Received anonymously over Email
Stop Cop City Report Back of Jan 28th
The fight for the forest continues!
Early stages of construction began last week and forest defenders quickly responded. Report from the January 28th march for the forest. The fight is everywhere, the forest is everywhere 🌳
Defending The Atlanta Forest – Background and Reportback
Since Summer of 2021 there has been an active effort to prevent the development of the South River Forest. This effort is intersectional and has been supported by a wide variety of groups for several reasons.
SOME HISTORIC BACKGROUND
The South River Forest is historically one of the regions where the Mvskoke people lived prior to their forced removal from the land. Following that the land was used for a plantation that was worked by enslaved peoples. Then, after the civil war, it was the site of one of the first transitions from chattel slavery to prison slavery. The prison on the land was where residents of the surrounding areas were detained and pressed into forced farm labor.
Once the prison was closed, the South River Forest was treated as a dumping ground. When Atlanta’s first public library was destroyed, pieces were left on the land, dead zoo animals were buried on the land, and the old structures of the prison fell into ruin. As the forest sits at the base of Atlanta’s water shed, the combination of the misuse of the land, the pollution of Atlanta, and the mistreatment of the land left the water and soil badly contaminated.
The South River Forest now houses Intrenchment Creek Park, the Atlanta Radio Control Club, a private police officer shooting range, and a system of trails that are used by the community.
Now, two entities are planning to destroy the forest for their own purposes. One is Blackhall Studios, which plans to build an enormous sound stage, and the other is the Atlanta Police Department, which wants to build a facility that has become colloquially known as “Cop City.”
The surrounding neighborhoods are primarily populated by lower-income residents, so the construction of the Blackhall sound stage will result in gentrification that will displace the local residents.
The construction of Cop City has wide ranging implications. It is meant to be an urban warfare training facility for the region and would drive militarization of police across the southeast. Its construction will create a precedent for urban warfare training facilities across the United States and the world. We have historical precendence of this as seen with the School of the Americas. https://www.grunge.com/338237/the-messed-up-history-of-the-school-of-the-americas/.
All of this comes before even considering the ecological and environmental relevence of protecting this forest. The South River Forest is one of the largest urban forests in the United States. It is populated by diverse species such as coyotes and beavers, and is home to multiple trees that are centuries old.
FOREST OCCUPATION AND DEFENSE
Occupation began in late 2021 with a camp on the Blackhall side of the forest. It was built by those who we will call “forest defenders” for the rest of this document. This includes everyone from those sitting in the trees, to the local public. These people are comrades, but many of us do not even know each other. Entities within this broad term act autonomously of one another, even if they have similar goals.
Following the eviction of the original camp, a new camp was established on the side of the forest designated for the building of Cop City. Over the course of several weeks, two tree-sits were built. As the two tree sits on the Cop City side of the forest were being completed, construction began.
Construction started on January 18th, 2022. Early in the morning, forest defenders noticed the presence of surveyors touring the forest. We had been alerted that there were going to be soil tests in order to prepare for building, so we were unsurprised. We also knew that the APD hadn’t acquired the appropriate permits to remove trees from the forest, which has been confirmed by the Dekalb Land Development manager. We were also unsurprised by the arrival of a bulldozer.
The workers used the bulldozer to rip new paths through the forest, destroying countless trees and saplings. Their plan was to create these new paths so that they could bring in their soil borer. Forest defenders converged on the bulldozer, and safely escorted the workers out of the forest. Afterwards, the windows of the bulldozer were smashed.
Police came to the forest to stop the forest defenders. Some retreated while others remained. A police officer pointed a gun at one forest defender, who was subsequently detained but not arrested. Construction didn’t resume for the rest of the week, giving forest defenders time to prepare. During this time, a few visitors came to the forest including a state surveyor, but things remained largely quiet.
THIS PAST WEEK OF ACTION
On Monday the 24th, a new group of construction workers came to the forest including surveyors and underground utility workers. Police escorted these workers through the forest while forest defenders played cat and mouse with them. Undercover cops surrounded the forest intimidating those who would park nearby. As such, outside support showed up, but not enmasse.
On Tuesday the 25th, surveyors, a bulldozer, and a police escort arrived in the morning. Yet again, the bulldozer was used to destroy trees. It is important to note that this activity was still illegal due to the lack of permits. Thankfully, work was delayed by barricades and a lack of survey markers. Forest defenders played cat and mouse, and were pursued by the police. Two people were detained and served criminal trespass warnings, but not arrested.
That night, a meeting was called. Two protests were planned: a “March for the Forest” for Friday the 28th, and another for two weeks from the date of the meeting. Community supporters coordinated with each other in order to ensure that everyone would know where to go. With a plan in place, we went into the next day more confident.
On Wednesday the 26th, forest defenders managed to block the bulldozers. The Atlanta Police Department and the Dekalb Police Department collaborated in pursuing them. This time the police brought ATVs that they could use to chase people, and a drone for surveillance. Tools were brought to destroy the barricades, and all but one were destroyed. Soil bores were successfully taken, but there were no detentions or arrests.
On Thursday the 27th, workers and police were on-site, dismantling barricades and placing survey stakes. The cat and mouse continued.
On Friday the 28th, 60+ forest defenders and community members gathered to march together. This group marched through the Intrenchment Creek Park side of the forest, took the streets for a time, then entered the forest. Forest defenders confronted cops and workers operating boring machinery. An estimated 4-6 forest defenders were arrested, and a noise demo was organized to support them from inside.
All in all, we are humbled by the love and support of our communities. Many have volunteered their time and talents to help defend the forest. We are holding out, but there is still more that we can and will do.
At this point we are in need of two main things: More people to help support tree sits and defend the forest from destruction, and legal attempts to delay construction. Please, join us, support us, and protect your community!
Check out https://scenes.noblogs.org/ for more info/past communiques and email atldtf@riseup.net to get in touch if you’re interested in coming.
Love and Rage,
The Forest Animals
-Submitted anonymously over email
FUCK COPS//JOIN US IN THE FOREST
The time is now! This is a call from some of us living in the Atlanta Forest; We invite you to join us in its defense. The forest, which is stolen Muscogee land, is slated to become a mock-city for police training. We have no intention of allowing this, nor of limiting our efforts to tree sits and lockdowns (already there have been 2 arson attacks, damaged machinery, home and office visits, barricades, etc.). The more people there are staying in the forest, the more options are open to us. Living in the forest gives us ability to immediately respond to any threat the forest faces. We must not allow them an inch without meeting opposition. Not one blade of grass. As it stands, the forest feels autonomous and the police are reluctant to go deep within it. Help us keep it that way. Come now to defend the forest, in struggle against the police and the civilization that needs them. Check out https://scenes.noblogs.org/ for more info/past communiques and email atldtf@riseup.net to get in touch if you’re interested in coming.
-Submitted anonymously over email
