Wednesday, January 18th, the climate action community lost longtime activist Manuel Teran, who went by the name “Tortuguita,” or “Little Turtle”.
“FOREST DEFENDER: On Wednesday, January 18th, multiple police departments descended upon Weelaunee People’s Park in unprecedented numbers and force. They blocked access to the park on both roads and bike trails. Some people were arrested for attempting to document police actions that day at the park.
Gunfire was heard at 9:04 a.m., about a dozen shots fired in rapid succession, followed by a loud boom about a minute later. For hours after the murder of Tortuguita, police continued to hunt, assault and arrest our brave forest defenders.”
The media storm that has ensued is nothing short of chaos. The Atlanta law enforcement is making the claim that the cops were shot on first, but have reportedly refused to back up that claim with police cam footage. The forest defenders are rightfully demanding an independent investigation into the events on Wednesday.
What is beginning to get public attention, is why the land defenders were defending the park, to begin with. Weelaunee People’s park is slated for demolition to construct what has been called “Cop City” a planned massive “training facility” for law enforcement. A project that the local community has been loudly against since the plans were announced.
“Protests had begun in late 2021, after the then Atlanta mayor, Keisha Lance Bottoms, announced plans for the training center. The forest had been named in city plans four years earlier as a key part of efforts to maintain Atlanta’s renowned tree canopy as a buffer against global warming, and to create what would have been the metro area’s largest park.
Most of the residents in neighborhoods around the forest are Black and municipal planning has neglected the area for decades. The plans to preserve the forest and make it a historic public amenity were adopted in 2017 as part of Atlanta’s city charter, or constitution. But the Atlanta city council wound up approving the training center anyway, and a movement to “Stop Cop City” began in response.”
The StopCopCity group on Instagram shared this call to action that anyone can take to voice their outrage for the conduct of law enforcement and to demand an end to the Cop City Project.
Solidarity vigils and marches are planned across the country over the weekend. DefendAtlantaForest on Instagram is reposting information for those who would like to join. Also, see https://defendtheatlantaforest.org/ for more resources. And https://defendtheatlantaforest.org/solidarity/ for more ways to take action.
Land defenders are asking folks to please send donations to https://atlsolidarity.org/
Justice for Tort