Atlanta: 'Vote to Stop Cop City' Referendum Passes Signature Threshold

Updated August 14, 2023, 5:05 p.m. PST

• The "Vote to Stop Cop City" campaign to get a public referendum on Cop City on the November ballot has received 80,000 signatures, exceeding the minimum number needed.
• The campaigners have set a goal of 100,000 signatures before they submit the petition next Monday.
• Group spokesperson Kamau Franklin said:

"We have way more than enough signatures to move forward."

Updated August 11, 2023, 1:35 p.m. PST

• Activists, including Martin Luther King Jr.'s daughter Bernice King, have joined a broad coalition of "Cop City" opponents. "Cop City" is a multimillion-dollar police training complex that has been at the center of controversy since its inception.
• Opponents, including environmentalists and anti-police activists, are calling on officials to allow a citywide public referendum on the complex.
• The campaign, "Vote to Stop Cop City" is working to collect 70,000 signatures from Atlanta voters by the August 14 deadline. If achieved, the referendum would be placed on the November ballot. If the campaigners do not reach their goal, the referendum would be delayed until March.
• The proposed referendum comes as organizations like the American Civil Liberties Union and the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People are urging the Department of Homeland Security to conduct an investigation into the mass surveillance of "Cop City" protesters, dozens of which have been arrested for domestic terrorism.
• The South River Watershed Alliance has also sued the city of Atlanta because construction of the complex has contaminated local water streams. 

Updated June 7, 2023

• The Atlanta City Council has approved $31 million in funding for "Cop City," a controversial police training center that has been at the core of protests for almost two years.
• The remainder of the $90 million project will be funded by private donations to the Atlanta Police Foundation, the non-profit that planned the center.
• One of the controversial provisions is that the city will pay $1.2 million a year for 30 years for the center, which will cost taxpayers $67 million. 
• Opponents and activists have argued that the center will promote police brutality against communities of color and destroy a vital forest.
• A publicly held meeting in advance of the decision featured several speakers who were against the funding. Matthew Johnson, executive director of Beloved Community Ministries, said:

"We're here to stop environmental racism and the militarization of the police. We need to go back to meeting the basic needs rather than using police as the sole solution to all of our social problems."

• Susi Durán, from the National Lawyers Guild, said:

"Cop City has already proven to be a source of violence, oppression, militarized approaches to civilians, unconstitutional activity and economic and environmental disaster."

Updated March 8, 2023

• Protestors lined the streets of downtown Atlanta on Tuesday afternoon to continue their protest against the construction of the Atlanta Public Safety Training Center,
• The protestors were calling for Atlanta Mayor Andre Dickens to halt construction on the facility.

Updated March 7, 2023

• Thirty-five protestors were detained after throwing rocks, fireworks, and Molotov cocktails at the site of a new police training facility, the Atlanta Public Safety Training Center, known by activists as "Cop City." At least 23 people face domestic terrorism charges.  
• "Cop City" was the site of the police killing of environmental activist Manuel “Tortuguita” Teran on Jan. 18 during an altercation between protestors and law enforcement.
• The activists are protesting police brutality and the destruction of the South River Forest wilderness area to make room for the Center.
• The protestors were in attendance at the South River Music Festival which was held near the site. They reportedly changed into black clothing and then attacked the construction site, according to the Atlanta Police Department.
• The department said a group of violent agitators clashed with authorities in an intentional and "coordinated attack on construction equipment and police officers.”
• Police continued:

“They changed into black clothing and entered the construction area and began to throw large rocks, bricks, Molotov cocktails, and fireworks at police officers. The agitators destroyed multiple pieces of construction equipment by fire and vandalism.”

• Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp (R) released a statement saying:

“Domestic terrorism will NOT be tolerated in this state.” 

• Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA) said she will be introducing a resolution declaring Antifa a terrorist group, although there is no indication that they were involved in the protests. 

Updated February 8, 2023

• A private autopsy of activist Manuel “Tortuguita” Teran, whose death at the hands of police led to widespread riots in Atlanta, showed that he was shot thirteen times. 

What's the story?

• Gov. Brian Kemp (R) has declared a state of emergency in Georgia until Feb. 9, authorizing the use of up to 1,000 National Guard Troops to maintain public order and quell violence amid protests against "Cop City."
• The state of emergency was declared after violent protests erupted in Atlanta following the police killing of environmental activist Manuel “Tortuguita” Teran on Jan. 18.

Environmentalists vs “Cop City”

• Since the summer of 2021, Defend the Atlanta Forest activists have vocally opposed the construction of a new police training facility, dubbed “Cop City," in Dekalb County’s South River Forest. They have hosted tree-sits, rallies, and community protests against the site.
• The protests gained momentum after Teran, a member of Defend the Atlanta Forest, was shot to death by a SWAT team during a raid of their encampment. 
• Police claim that Teran shot at them first, but none of the police officers were wearing body cameras, and activists present at Teran’s death dispute the authorities’ timeline of events. Protestors want an independent inquiry into the events.
• Teran’s death triggered protests against police violence and vigils were held as far afield as Kurdistan. 

The protests become violent

• The protests became violent a week ago after activists started to throw rocks at the Atlanta Police Foundation building.
• The protesters also set fire to a police cruiser.
• Six protesters were arrested.

Kemp’s response

• In Wednesday’s State of the State address, Kemp accused the rioters of being out-of-state troublemakers and stated:

“[This is] the latest example of why here in Georgia, we’ll always back the blue.”

• Kemp has made all resources available to the National Guard to maintain public order.
• The state of emergency comes in advance of expected protests in light of the release of body camera footage of the police killing of Tyre Nichols on Friday.

Do you think the state of emergency is justified?

—Emma Kansiz