WEBVTT - Atlanta Forest Week of Action Update 0:00:04.960 --> 0:00:09.039 Greetings. This is it could happen here. I'm Garrison Davis, 0:00:09.080 --> 0:00:11.880 and this episode I will once again be talking about 0:00:11.960 --> 0:00:16.000 the Defend the Atlanta Force project. Last month I released 0:00:16.040 --> 0:00:21.720 two episodes totally like three hours in content, uh, discussing 0:00:21.840 --> 0:00:25.120 the movement from its inception up until the current state 0:00:25.120 --> 0:00:28.360 of affairs at time of recording, which was like early May. 0:00:28.960 --> 0:00:34.240 If you want background on this uh, really interesting and 0:00:35.040 --> 0:00:39.559 vital piece of resistance that's happening in Atlanta, Georgia, then 0:00:39.560 --> 0:00:42.400 I would recommend you at least attempts to check out 0:00:42.880 --> 0:00:45.680 the Juggernaut of Audio, which is that two part a 0:00:46.560 --> 0:00:52.280 long story short. There's this police training facility that the 0:00:52.280 --> 0:00:55.160 Atlanta Police Foundation and other corporate interests in the city 0:00:55.200 --> 0:00:58.160 are trying to build on one of the city's last 0:00:58.200 --> 0:01:03.200 remaining like massive wafts of of a continuous forested land. 0:01:03.440 --> 0:01:06.520 On an adjacent piece of forested land, a movie studio 0:01:06.640 --> 0:01:10.120 called Black Hall is trying to expand their sound stage 0:01:10.400 --> 0:01:13.600 onto a whole other section of the woods. The joint 0:01:13.640 --> 0:01:17.039 projects of the police training facility, dubbed Cops City and 0:01:17.080 --> 0:01:20.959 the Black Hall Studios sound stage expansion threatened hundreds of 0:01:20.959 --> 0:01:24.000 acres of the largest continuous piece of the Atlantic Forest 0:01:24.360 --> 0:01:28.640 located in southwest Intocab County. The area is often referred 0:01:28.640 --> 0:01:32.000 to as the Lungs of Atlanta and produces a massive 0:01:32.000 --> 0:01:35.080 amount of tree canopy in the city and is a 0:01:35.120 --> 0:01:38.600 wonderful little ecological spot. I was lucky enough to visit 0:01:38.959 --> 0:01:42.920 in late April to help in putting together those those 0:01:42.959 --> 0:01:45.479 two episodes, and a lot of a lot a lot 0:01:45.520 --> 0:01:48.760 has happened since then. Uh. Coming off the success of 0:01:48.880 --> 0:01:52.520 getting Reeves Young to cease work on the Cops City project, 0:01:53.000 --> 0:01:55.760 I felt like there was this sense of renewed optimism 0:01:55.840 --> 0:02:00.200 regarding the potential of actually winning. On the other hand, 0:02:00.200 --> 0:02:03.160 in just during the week before the Week of Action, 0:02:03.640 --> 0:02:07.480 attempts by cops to enter the forest increased, and there 0:02:07.680 --> 0:02:11.680 was talk of increasing crackdowns against the forest offenders by 0:02:11.800 --> 0:02:15.320 local law enforcement, who also announced that they called in 0:02:15.360 --> 0:02:18.600 the FBI to assist them, which leads us to the 0:02:18.720 --> 0:02:23.240 Week of Action. On the morning of May nine, which 0:02:23.360 --> 0:02:26.560 was a Monday, barely a day into the Week of Action, 0:02:26.960 --> 0:02:31.240 a bulldozer was brought into the Atlanta Forest. This is 0:02:31.360 --> 0:02:34.160 based on reporting by the Great Folks at the Atlanta 0:02:34.280 --> 0:02:37.640 Community Press and other on the ground reports from forest 0:02:37.680 --> 0:02:42.200 offenders hosted by the Defend the Atlanta Forest account and 0:02:42.639 --> 0:02:47.320 scenes dot no blogs. So around nine thirty a m. 0:02:47.520 --> 0:02:51.560 Monday morning, people inhabiting the Wilani Forest woke up to 0:02:51.680 --> 0:02:55.720 the sounds of trees going down and metal machinery. A 0:02:55.760 --> 0:03:00.600 bulldozer marked with Dodd Drilling LLC, accompanied by to Decab 0:03:00.720 --> 0:03:04.799 County cops, had bulldozed a path through the forested Entrenchment 0:03:04.880 --> 0:03:08.960 Creek Park, directly adjacent to the old Atlanta Prison Farm. 0:03:09.000 --> 0:03:11.480 The park land is currently under threat by the Black 0:03:11.520 --> 0:03:16.640 Hall Studios sound stage development. The Dodd Drilling bulldozer destroyed 0:03:16.680 --> 0:03:20.920 a significant swath of forests, injuring plants and animals in 0:03:20.960 --> 0:03:25.359 its path. When people learned about this, around forty folks 0:03:25.440 --> 0:03:30.280 quickly mobilized and gathered around the bulldozer, confronting the project 0:03:30.280 --> 0:03:34.040 managers and the police officers on the scene. Those gathered 0:03:34.080 --> 0:03:36.360 showed it at the workers and cops to go home 0:03:36.600 --> 0:03:40.160 and declared that this is a public park. When the 0:03:40.240 --> 0:03:44.760 two Decab County police who were protecting the bulldozer were confronted, 0:03:45.000 --> 0:03:47.320 it was revealed that they were actually working as off 0:03:47.400 --> 0:03:53.000 duty uniformed private security, seemingly taking orders from the construction management. 0:03:53.640 --> 0:03:57.200 The management who wore vests labeled Contour Engineering and Dodd 0:03:57.200 --> 0:04:00.520 Phillips claimed that they were not working for black Holes studios. 0:04:00.840 --> 0:04:03.000 Who who knows if that's true or who they might 0:04:03.040 --> 0:04:06.560 be working for that Georgia state law does permit off 0:04:06.640 --> 0:04:10.080 duty police officers to be hired, along with their uniforms, 0:04:10.120 --> 0:04:14.559 service weapons, and vehicles, by private companies for their own purposes. 0:04:15.200 --> 0:04:17.520 The police expressed that they were not aware that they 0:04:17.560 --> 0:04:20.640 were in a public park along with the bulldozer they 0:04:20.640 --> 0:04:24.520 were protecting, and faced with a confident group of responders 0:04:24.640 --> 0:04:28.279 intent on defending the forest from further destruction, police and 0:04:28.320 --> 0:04:31.320 the construction management quickly made the decision to retreat from 0:04:31.360 --> 0:04:35.360 the woods. The off duty cops had called in reinforcements 0:04:35.360 --> 0:04:39.400 from Decab County. Seven more Decab County vehicles showed up, 0:04:39.600 --> 0:04:42.760 but by the time the extra police survived, workers were 0:04:42.839 --> 0:04:47.280 driving the bulldozers back into the parking lot. The police 0:04:47.360 --> 0:04:50.479 were persuaded to leave by the actions of intelligent people 0:04:50.640 --> 0:04:54.440 acting quickly and collectively in defense of the land. The 0:04:54.480 --> 0:04:58.159 force defenders then escorted the cops and the workers out 0:04:58.320 --> 0:05:00.599 of the park and made sure that the instruction of 0:05:00.640 --> 0:05:05.400 the woods had truly ceased. Police scanners reported that vehicles 0:05:05.440 --> 0:05:08.920 transporting the bulldozer faced a brage of rocks and had 0:05:08.920 --> 0:05:13.080 their windshield smashed. Entrenchment Creek Park is still a public 0:05:13.120 --> 0:05:17.760 park and property of Decab County under a civil court injunction. 0:05:18.240 --> 0:05:22.080 The pending case prevents construction or clearing by Black Hall Studios. 0:05:22.880 --> 0:05:25.520 Later that same day, a group of around forty people 0:05:25.839 --> 0:05:29.200 marched to the home of Shepherd Long, the principle of 0:05:29.400 --> 0:05:33.800 Long Engineering, an engineering firm subcontracted to do surveying and 0:05:33.920 --> 0:05:39.240 other preconstruction work on the Atlanta Police Foundation's Public Safety 0:05:39.279 --> 0:05:43.880 training center, which we called Cops City. The group rallied 0:05:43.920 --> 0:05:47.479 for about ten minutes outside Shepherd Lungs home and was 0:05:47.560 --> 0:05:51.200 demanding that Long Engineering sever its contract with the Cops 0:05:51.240 --> 0:05:54.360 City project. One of the group members read aloud a 0:05:54.400 --> 0:05:57.359 statement directed to Shepherd Long, which I will play the 0:05:57.400 --> 0:06:01.280 audio of here. In Mane is a city of forests 0:06:01.320 --> 0:06:03.839 with the most tree coverage of any urban city in America. 0:06:04.240 --> 0:06:06.320 If you continue to work with bross Field and Gory, 0:06:06.600 --> 0:06:10.200 the entire city will experience worse floods, higher temperatures, and 0:06:10.320 --> 0:06:13.640 small field afternoons. You have the power to stop that. 0:06:14.160 --> 0:06:17.359 This proposed military training compound is in the nucleus of 0:06:17.400 --> 0:06:21.039 a culturally rich black community full of churches, preschools, and 0:06:21.080 --> 0:06:24.400 community centers. Dozens of children and grandparents have lived there 0:06:24.400 --> 0:06:26.920 for years. If you continue to work with brass Field 0:06:26.960 --> 0:06:31.360 and Gory, our streets and backyards will be filled with shootings, explosions, 0:06:31.520 --> 0:06:34.839 and dear gas. We want our children and neighbors to 0:06:34.839 --> 0:06:37.839 be able to breathe clean air and experience the vastness 0:06:37.839 --> 0:06:40.440 of the Atlanta Forest, not to be victims of a 0:06:40.520 --> 0:06:43.560 domestic war zone. You have the power to stop that. 0:06:44.160 --> 0:06:46.360 We are here to fight for the future of our city, 0:06:46.640 --> 0:06:50.760 our children, our neighbors, and our planet. We hold no 0:06:50.880 --> 0:06:54.120 ill will towards you personally. We just want you to 0:06:54.200 --> 0:06:57.520 make this one right decision. We no long Engineering has 0:06:57.600 --> 0:07:01.039 many other contracts with many other company. We are only 0:07:01.040 --> 0:07:04.359 here to ask you to drop this one company, Rathfield 0:07:04.400 --> 0:07:07.760 and Glory, until they dropped their contract with the Atlanta 0:07:07.760 --> 0:07:14.000 Police Foundation. The group distributed flyers alerting neighbors to the 0:07:14.040 --> 0:07:17.000 work of Shepherd Long and what his company was doing 0:07:17.040 --> 0:07:20.040 in De capp County. After about ten minutes, the group 0:07:20.160 --> 0:07:23.640 quickly dispersed without incident. The next day, There's a lot 0:07:23.680 --> 0:07:26.360 of other events related to the Week of Action. There 0:07:26.440 --> 0:07:30.280 was a security culture workshop and activist primer about building 0:07:30.320 --> 0:07:33.280 a collective understanding of ways to keep us all safe 0:07:33.320 --> 0:07:36.720 from imprisonment the government repression. There was a night of 0:07:36.840 --> 0:07:40.760 hip hop and punk at a local radical venue that 0:07:40.880 --> 0:07:43.880 served as a benefit show for the Forest Defense, and 0:07:44.080 --> 0:07:46.800 other random events throughout the Week of Action included stuff 0:07:46.840 --> 0:07:50.360 like clothing swaps, bike rides through the forest, yoga in 0:07:50.400 --> 0:07:55.320 the park, plus daily breakfast and dinners, history talks, art parties, 0:07:55.360 --> 0:07:59.120 wood walks, skill shares, and a sick night rave along 0:07:59.120 --> 0:08:03.000 with you know, forced tours and much more. So that's 0:08:03.080 --> 0:08:05.840 just two days of the Week of Action, the Monday 0:08:05.920 --> 0:08:09.040 and the Tuesday. When we get back from this ad break, 0:08:09.120 --> 0:08:13.640 I will get into what happened on Wednesday and then 0:08:13.720 --> 0:08:15.560 and then Thursday. You know, we're going to go through 0:08:15.560 --> 0:08:19.560 it linearly. Um, despite my criticisms of linear time, we 0:08:19.600 --> 0:08:22.680 will go through this in a linear fashion because that's 0:08:22.720 --> 0:08:26.440 how formatting this episode was easiest. Anyway, here's some ads, 0:08:36.679 --> 0:08:39.680 and we are back talking about the Defending Atlantic Forest 0:08:40.160 --> 0:08:44.240 Week of Action. So just after ten am on Wednesday, 0:08:44.360 --> 0:08:47.560 May eleven, to de cab County Park Police entered the 0:08:47.600 --> 0:08:50.920 forest to inspect the path created by the bulldozer that 0:08:51.080 --> 0:08:55.080 previous Monday. As they were exiting the forest, forest defenders 0:08:55.080 --> 0:08:57.839 to ambush them by throwing rocks and bottles at their 0:08:57.920 --> 0:09:02.480 vehicles and smashing the car windows. At noons like two 0:09:02.559 --> 0:09:06.840 hours later, a van marked law enforcement Department of Juvenile 0:09:06.920 --> 0:09:10.720 Justice pulled up into the parking lot of entrenchmentt Creek Park. 0:09:11.080 --> 0:09:13.800 It's worth noting that the area of Entrenchment Creek Park 0:09:14.160 --> 0:09:18.800 and the forested area on the Atlanta Prison Farm has 0:09:18.800 --> 0:09:23.199 like two child prisons on it. We talked more about 0:09:23.240 --> 0:09:27.080 those in the in the two part series from last month. 0:09:27.480 --> 0:09:32.079 But anyway, so this van marked Department of Juvenal Justice 0:09:32.080 --> 0:09:35.120 pulled up into the parking lot inside in Trenchmant Creek Park. 0:09:35.400 --> 0:09:38.200 But an hour later the van was attacked suddenly by 0:09:38.240 --> 0:09:41.839 a brage of rocks and multiple tires were slashed. The 0:09:41.920 --> 0:09:44.120 van attempted to escape, but was left stranded in the 0:09:44.120 --> 0:09:47.240 parking lot until the cab police were able to escort 0:09:47.240 --> 0:09:50.719 it out. Police were nervously walking backwards in order to 0:09:50.800 --> 0:09:53.360 keep their eyes on the tree line, where they knew 0:09:53.480 --> 0:09:57.480 forced defenders would be watching them at every moment. Multiple 0:09:57.559 --> 0:10:01.680 police vehicles were damaged. Nobody was detain or arrested. Portions 0:10:01.679 --> 0:10:04.880 of that report came from scenes dot no blogs dot Org. 0:10:05.480 --> 0:10:09.520 Earlier that same day, like early in the morning, around 0:10:09.600 --> 0:10:13.679 forty people visited the home of Keith Lanier Johnson Jr. 0:10:14.080 --> 0:10:19.160 In Kensaw, Georgia. Keith is the Eastern Regional president of 0:10:19.200 --> 0:10:22.680 Brassfield and Gory. Brassfield and Gory are the current general 0:10:22.720 --> 0:10:27.280 contractor on the Atlanta Police Foundations Cops City Project. Flyers 0:10:27.320 --> 0:10:30.760 were posted around the neighborhood, past the low barrier fencing 0:10:30.800 --> 0:10:35.240 around the gated community. An anonymous statement released online at 0:10:35.240 --> 0:10:38.480 scenes dot no blogs read quote now that Keith is 0:10:38.520 --> 0:10:41.360 no longer busy on the board of the Mount Perrin 0:10:41.400 --> 0:10:44.440 Christian School. It seems he is now managing the one 0:10:44.520 --> 0:10:47.800 hundred and forty two thou dollars of fines levied against 0:10:47.800 --> 0:10:51.440 his employer for safety and wage theft violations. He's also 0:10:51.559 --> 0:10:55.080 overseeing the destruction of grave sites, leveling of a vital 0:10:55.120 --> 0:10:58.839 tree canopy, and the militarization of the American Police Force. 0:10:59.240 --> 0:11:02.080 It is for those reasons that community members went to 0:11:02.160 --> 0:11:05.199 his home at six am. We hope that Keith is 0:11:05.240 --> 0:11:08.600 able to convince the two owners, currently sitting comfortably back 0:11:08.640 --> 0:11:12.360 at home in Birmingham, that the current Atlanta Police Foundation 0:11:12.400 --> 0:11:15.720 contract is untenable and there is an urgent need to 0:11:15.840 --> 0:11:19.080 cancel it. It could turn out that Keith personally is 0:11:19.160 --> 0:11:23.480 carrying to Brunt the pressure for his boss's decisions. Brassfield 0:11:23.480 --> 0:11:26.640 and Gory will eventually drop the Cops City project. Anonymous 0:11:26.679 --> 0:11:31.360 groups are developing new methods for disincentivizing the project. The 0:11:31.440 --> 0:11:35.760 next day, on May twelve, a tightly packed crowd around 0:11:35.960 --> 0:11:40.400 eight mask protesters converged on the Brassfield and Gory Atlanta 0:11:40.559 --> 0:11:44.760 office in broad daylight. People holding banners and launching fireworks 0:11:44.880 --> 0:11:48.280 arrived at the building, and force defenders covered the side 0:11:48.400 --> 0:11:52.120 of the office with stop Cops City graffiti and chanting 0:11:52.320 --> 0:11:56.360 will be Back as they left. Unicorn Riot reported that 0:11:56.400 --> 0:11:59.280 five people were arrested following the action and booked on 0:11:59.320 --> 0:12:03.680 several charges, including some felonies. Charges were including riot and 0:12:03.720 --> 0:12:08.079 criminal damage to property and quote terroristic threats and acts. 0:12:08.480 --> 0:12:11.760 I know that some but possibly not all, people's charges 0:12:11.840 --> 0:12:15.079 got dropped, and the listed bond amount for some individuals 0:12:15.200 --> 0:12:19.040 was extremely high, getting up to around fifty dollars just 0:12:19.200 --> 0:12:22.880 for an individual. Nearing the end of the week of action. 0:12:23.080 --> 0:12:26.560 On Saturday, May eleven, a march to Defend the Forest 0:12:26.760 --> 0:12:30.960 took the streets in East Atlanta Village, led by local preschoolers. 0:12:31.480 --> 0:12:34.360 There were some really nice signs and artwork done by kids. 0:12:34.760 --> 0:12:37.720 The Defend the Forest twitter account posted some beautiful photos 0:12:37.840 --> 0:12:43.040 of kids protests signs that says forest is life and 0:12:43.440 --> 0:12:48.560 love you trees stop, never cut down the trees allowed 0:12:48.600 --> 0:12:53.160 with very very good art. It was very very pleasant 0:12:53.160 --> 0:12:56.880 to see. A Few hours later, another march to Atlanta 0:12:56.880 --> 0:12:59.960 at the top cop City drew around two d protesters 0:13:00.080 --> 0:13:04.120 is After about an hour of marching, the crowd returned 0:13:04.160 --> 0:13:06.840 to Freedom Park, where they were then attacked by police. 0:13:06.880 --> 0:13:10.080 Without warning. Dozens of cop cars pulled up and police 0:13:10.080 --> 0:13:14.160 helicopters loomed overhead. Armored cops were arresting people on the 0:13:14.160 --> 0:13:18.440 sidewalks for marching on the streets, for playing drums, or 0:13:18.480 --> 0:13:22.840 for just standing in the wrong place. Atlanta police and 0:13:22.840 --> 0:13:26.839 Georgia State Patrol officers assaulted, shoved, and tackled multiple people, 0:13:27.160 --> 0:13:31.600 deployed tasers and threatened neighbors who filmed the arrests. One 0:13:31.600 --> 0:13:34.520 person violently arrested was taken to the hospital for treatment. 0:13:35.520 --> 0:13:39.199 To defend the forest, twitter account posted quote at least 0:13:39.240 --> 0:13:43.320 seventeen arrests night by Atlanta Police Department. Spirits high as 0:13:43.360 --> 0:13:47.600 the forest raves and the encampment grows outside the forest, 0:13:47.720 --> 0:13:51.800 many stand vigil at the jail, welcoming arrestees as they 0:13:51.840 --> 0:13:55.320 are released. We are strong together. The forest unites us. 0:13:55.400 --> 0:13:59.040 The cops cannot divide us. Atlanta Police say that the 0:13:59.160 --> 0:14:02.640 march was in violation of pedestrian laws, which is why 0:14:02.640 --> 0:14:06.439 they charged and started assaulting people on the sidewalk. And 0:14:06.600 --> 0:14:10.120 that wraps up some of the Week of Action stuff. 0:14:10.160 --> 0:14:12.400 I know there was a lot more things that happened, 0:14:12.440 --> 0:14:15.560 but trying to crime it all into a tight package 0:14:15.720 --> 0:14:19.400 was challenging. So that that was the general general week 0:14:19.600 --> 0:14:23.800 Week of Action vibes. But there is there's more. We 0:14:23.840 --> 0:14:26.000 still We still have like half the episode to go 0:14:26.600 --> 0:14:29.800 because a lot, a lot else has happened in in 0:14:29.840 --> 0:14:35.040 the days since then. In the early morning on Monday 0:14:35.120 --> 0:14:39.680 May sixteen, a week after the bulldozer descended on the forest, 0:14:39.720 --> 0:14:43.120 accompanied by off duty cops acting as security, a home 0:14:43.160 --> 0:14:47.000 associated with Dodd Drilling LLC. Was painted with slogans including 0:14:47.440 --> 0:14:51.520 Dodd Drilling, Stay Out, stop Cops City and drop a 0:14:51.720 --> 0:14:55.480 p D. A message for the homeowner associated with Dodd 0:14:55.560 --> 0:14:58.280 Drilling was released, which you can read the full version 0:14:58.280 --> 0:15:01.280 of online at scenes dot no lugs dot org. I'll 0:15:01.280 --> 0:15:05.360 read some portions of it here. Quote. Last Monday, a 0:15:05.400 --> 0:15:08.360 bulldozer with your logo forced its way into the Wolani 0:15:08.440 --> 0:15:10.880 Forest and left one hundred foot trail of destruction in 0:15:10.920 --> 0:15:14.760 its wake. Forced defenders responded quickly with rocks and rage, 0:15:15.080 --> 0:15:18.360 but some damage was already done. Despite having no permit, 0:15:18.640 --> 0:15:22.120 you allowed Atlanta Police to use your equipment to intimidate 0:15:22.200 --> 0:15:25.200 and injure the forest and its residents. Today, you know 0:15:25.240 --> 0:15:28.080 what it's like to have your space invaded. You came 0:15:28.080 --> 0:15:31.440 into our home, so we came to yours. Your private 0:15:31.440 --> 0:15:34.280 property is not as private as you may think. We 0:15:34.320 --> 0:15:36.320 demand that you stay out of the Wolani Forest and 0:15:36.360 --> 0:15:40.200 stopped working with Atlanta Police and Cops City contractors. To 0:15:40.360 --> 0:15:44.120 all others who would support Cops City, it might have 0:15:44.240 --> 0:15:49.440 more costs than you anticipate, financial and otherwise. Many creatures 0:15:49.480 --> 0:15:52.520 care deeply about this forest and are prepared to defend it. 0:15:52.960 --> 0:15:55.760 Any partner of the a p D or contractor for 0:15:55.880 --> 0:15:59.680 Cops City is our enemy and a potential target. The 0:15:59.760 --> 0:16:02.600 will Annie Forest is not dying, it is being killed, 0:16:02.680 --> 0:16:05.160 and those who are killing it have names and addresses. 0:16:05.600 --> 0:16:08.800 A list of local Atlanta evil doers is available at 0:16:08.920 --> 0:16:13.680 stop reeves young dot com. The next day, on Tuesday, 0:16:13.720 --> 0:16:18.080 May see Atlanta police, backed by other state and federal 0:16:18.160 --> 0:16:22.240 law enforcement, including the CAB Police, Georgia State Patrol, the 0:16:22.240 --> 0:16:26.200 Georgia Bureau of Investigation, and the FBI, raided the South 0:16:26.240 --> 0:16:29.880 Atlanta Forest. The raid came just days after the Week 0:16:29.920 --> 0:16:32.320 of Action, which brought hundreds to the Atlanta Forest to 0:16:32.360 --> 0:16:37.480 participate in workshops, plant gardens, watch films, and protest at 0:16:37.520 --> 0:16:42.160 the homes of developers plotting the forests destruction. Shortly after 0:16:42.200 --> 0:16:46.080 the scheduled events ended, police gathered their forces to raid 0:16:46.200 --> 0:16:50.400 the forest encampment. Police started staging at around nine am 0:16:50.800 --> 0:16:55.520 on Tuesday and started coming in at around ten am. 0:16:55.680 --> 0:16:59.800 Force offenders started mobilizing and calling for support. Cops blocked 0:16:59.800 --> 0:17:02.720 off the roads leading to the forest access points and 0:17:02.800 --> 0:17:06.480 told drivers stuck at the blockade that quote, we're opening 0:17:06.600 --> 0:17:11.200 up the site for construction. Soon, cops started arresting protesters 0:17:11.320 --> 0:17:14.880 that gathered in Entrenchment Creek Park and towed any car 0:17:15.040 --> 0:17:19.199 on the streets outside of the park. Helicopter circled the forest, 0:17:19.280 --> 0:17:22.439 trying to track the movement of forest offenders under the 0:17:22.520 --> 0:17:26.840 cover of the tree canopy. Police near occupied trees were 0:17:26.880 --> 0:17:31.080 heard talking about quote flushing out people inside tree houses 0:17:31.800 --> 0:17:34.560 in the face of militant resistance. Police did manage to 0:17:34.600 --> 0:17:39.119 cut down trees and destroyed multiple treehouses, destroyed force defenders, 0:17:39.200 --> 0:17:42.760 personal belongings, and other protest infrastructure set up by the 0:17:42.840 --> 0:17:46.320 land defenders, all in an effort to allow contractors to 0:17:46.359 --> 0:17:49.600 begin development of the ninety million dollar Cops City project. 0:17:50.080 --> 0:17:53.679 On Twitter, the Defend the Atlanta Forest account posted quote 0:17:53.960 --> 0:17:56.960 reports that the Atlanta Police and Georgia State Patrol are 0:17:57.040 --> 0:17:59.880 chainsawing in an area of the old Atlanta Prison farm 0:18:00.080 --> 0:18:03.400 where people have occupied trees to Defend the Forest. Dozens 0:18:03.400 --> 0:18:06.120 of Forest Defenders moving in groups all over the woods 0:18:06.160 --> 0:18:10.720 throughout the raid. No arrests inside the forest reported so far, 0:18:11.240 --> 0:18:15.160 only from the perimeter at the public park. Police seem 0:18:15.280 --> 0:18:19.440 unwilling to pursue people through the forest. Swat rifles trained 0:18:19.480 --> 0:18:23.800 on force defenders occupying a treehouse to stop Cops City. 0:18:23.960 --> 0:18:27.000 The Defend the Forest twitter account also posted a video 0:18:27.119 --> 0:18:30.600 of a semitruck packed full of building supplies headed into 0:18:30.600 --> 0:18:34.320 the north boundary of the proposed Cops City site, where 0:18:34.359 --> 0:18:38.199 police were raiding the forest defense occupation. I'm gonna do 0:18:38.240 --> 0:18:41.359 a little quote from Unicorn Riot, who reported on the 0:18:41.400 --> 0:18:45.240 police raid. Quote. According to police, those committed to defending 0:18:45.280 --> 0:18:47.840 the forest to put up a fight, pelting the officers 0:18:47.840 --> 0:18:50.600 with rocks and what appeared to be a Molotov cocktail 0:18:50.720 --> 0:18:53.840 was deployed along a fence line. In the wake of 0:18:53.880 --> 0:18:57.199 the raid, a truck barricade constructed months ago to protect 0:18:57.280 --> 0:19:00.760 those occupying the forest from police incursions, showed signs of 0:19:00.840 --> 0:19:04.240 having being set on fire. Flaming barricades are a common 0:19:04.240 --> 0:19:06.960 tactic used by protesters around the world to push back 0:19:07.040 --> 0:19:11.720 against police unquote. Eventually, police let media enter a small 0:19:11.800 --> 0:19:15.719 contained area on the other side of the blockade. Police 0:19:15.760 --> 0:19:17.800 wanted to talk with the multiple press outlets that had 0:19:17.840 --> 0:19:20.720 gathered near the site in an attempt to gain control 0:19:20.800 --> 0:19:25.280 of the media narrative. Atlanta Police Deputy Chief sheer Bomb, Yes, 0:19:25.320 --> 0:19:27.520 that's how I'm pronouncing it. I've no idea has actually said, 0:19:27.680 --> 0:19:30.480 but I think it's sheer Bomb held an interview staged 0:19:30.520 --> 0:19:34.320 by the Public Affairs Office Overall, the goal seemed to 0:19:34.320 --> 0:19:36.800 be to control the media narrative by painting police as 0:19:36.800 --> 0:19:39.840 the heroes and the protesters as a very small group 0:19:39.880 --> 0:19:44.119 of outside agitators. After getting the statement from police, most 0:19:44.200 --> 0:19:46.880 media left the scene while the blockades were still up 0:19:47.000 --> 0:19:50.800 on both sides of the forest access road. Deputy Chief 0:19:50.800 --> 0:19:54.479 sheer Bomb said that police escorted contractors into the forest 0:19:54.760 --> 0:19:58.840 and preliminary work was being done. Police later specified that 0:19:58.880 --> 0:20:01.679 they were at this site to company contractors tasked with 0:20:01.720 --> 0:20:06.480 removing some temporary illegal structures that were set up by protesters, 0:20:06.520 --> 0:20:10.600 and that quote no one was hurt. Media framed the 0:20:10.680 --> 0:20:14.360 raid and subsequent arrests as the police cracking down on 0:20:14.480 --> 0:20:19.600 a group of violent outside agitators, cops giving statements like quote, 0:20:19.840 --> 0:20:21.679 we will not be deterred by the acts of a 0:20:21.720 --> 0:20:25.040 few that do not represent our community, and with local 0:20:25.080 --> 0:20:28.480 news covering the incident like quote several protesters who are 0:20:28.520 --> 0:20:32.520 arrested after they threw a Molotov cocktail at police as 0:20:32.600 --> 0:20:35.800 officers raided a camp on the grounds of the planned 0:20:36.119 --> 0:20:41.120 Atlanta Police Departments training facility unquote, even though the arrests 0:20:41.320 --> 0:20:43.959 took place in a completely different section of the woods 0:20:44.440 --> 0:20:47.560 where protesters were gathered openly in a public park and 0:20:47.640 --> 0:20:51.760 actually happened before the cocktail was thrown. Yet there was 0:20:51.800 --> 0:20:54.639 a lot of attempts to link the arrests to the 0:20:54.680 --> 0:20:58.439 maltof cocktail, but you know, media, media just do that, 0:20:58.800 --> 0:21:02.000 and they got hold up the story of of the 0:21:02.119 --> 0:21:06.400 of the cocktail and of the outside agitators attacking Atlanta 0:21:06.480 --> 0:21:10.600 police and it's not representing our community. Eight people were 0:21:10.680 --> 0:21:15.320 arrested and faced charges ranging from criminal trespassing to police obstruction. 0:21:16.040 --> 0:21:18.600 Despite attempts by police to paint the movement as the 0:21:18.600 --> 0:21:23.680 work of quote outside agitators, while also working alongside of 0:21:23.880 --> 0:21:27.600 growing list of out of town law enforcement organizations, the 0:21:27.680 --> 0:21:32.040 movement to oppose Cops City has been directly rooted within 0:21:32.080 --> 0:21:36.120 a broad localized opposition, whether that be with Atlanta based 0:21:36.200 --> 0:21:41.600 organizations fighting against gentrification, local chapters of climate change protest organizations, 0:21:41.720 --> 0:21:45.199 or just anonymous individuals that reside across Atlanta, or the 0:21:45.240 --> 0:21:48.000 indigenous people who have in setral connections to the land. 0:21:48.760 --> 0:21:52.440 Hours after the raid, there was a Atlanta community press 0:21:52.440 --> 0:21:56.120 conference put on at Entrenchment Creek Park, And I'm going 0:21:56.160 --> 0:21:59.600 to read a statement that somebody gave at the press conference. 0:21:59.680 --> 0:22:03.320 Quote this is an attempt to demoralize a vibrant and 0:22:03.320 --> 0:22:06.960 diverse movement led by local community members against the replacement 0:22:07.040 --> 0:22:09.920 of the largest urban tree canopy in the United States 0:22:10.480 --> 0:22:13.120 with the largest police training compound in the United States. 0:22:13.640 --> 0:22:15.919 The police will attempt to depict this movement as a 0:22:15.960 --> 0:22:19.760 small group of hard line activists. We are all neighbors 0:22:19.760 --> 0:22:22.199 of the forest. We are intelligent people who know that 0:22:22.280 --> 0:22:25.120 the future of the world is on fire, and who 0:22:25.119 --> 0:22:28.320 are determined to act and to defend what remains to 0:22:28.359 --> 0:22:32.000 sustain life in this city and on this planet. The 0:22:32.040 --> 0:22:34.840 city is only going to get hotter, Wrench is only 0:22:34.840 --> 0:22:37.720 going to get more expensive. Food and gas prices are 0:22:37.800 --> 0:22:41.040 only rising. The city has no answers for this except 0:22:41.040 --> 0:22:44.239 for a more militarized police force. You can't prop up 0:22:44.240 --> 0:22:48.480 a free society with violence alone. The next day, protesters 0:22:48.520 --> 0:22:52.760 from Saturday's Stop Cop City march had court and all 0:22:52.760 --> 0:22:57.200 of their charges were dropped. Atlanta police is just desperate 0:22:57.320 --> 0:23:02.520 to get a good boogeyman to blame any potential uprising on, 0:23:03.200 --> 0:23:05.760 and they're not being super successful and letting any of 0:23:05.800 --> 0:23:08.880 these charges stick. There was this really great point made 0:23:08.880 --> 0:23:11.440 by this person named Audi Khali and was going to 0:23:11.560 --> 0:23:14.439 quote from a thread they posted quote. Thirty seven arrests 0:23:14.480 --> 0:23:17.480 were made in relation to the decentralized Defend the Atlanta 0:23:17.520 --> 0:23:21.080 Force movement over the past weeks, mostly for made up 0:23:21.200 --> 0:23:25.480 jaywalking charges, but only twelve had their legal identities revealed 0:23:25.520 --> 0:23:30.600 to corporate media and right wing doctors. Why all twelve 0:23:30.600 --> 0:23:33.520 protesters who were docked these past couple of weeks were 0:23:33.560 --> 0:23:37.199 said to be from out of state. When journalists asked 0:23:37.240 --> 0:23:41.639 if other protesters had Georgia residences, answers were denied. The 0:23:41.680 --> 0:23:45.760 answer to why is simple, These twelve currently possessed out 0:23:45.800 --> 0:23:49.320 of state I das and appeared white, passing the other 0:23:49.320 --> 0:23:53.800 twenty four arrestees might not necessarily fit these categories. Noticed 0:23:53.840 --> 0:23:56.600 that right wing troll Andy no omitted the ages of 0:23:56.640 --> 0:23:59.240 the arrestees who are not in their twenties as well. 0:23:59.600 --> 0:24:02.800 This is another iteration of the outside educator and narrative 0:24:03.040 --> 0:24:08.640 and an attempt to delegitimize resistance while denying local agency unquote. 0:24:08.800 --> 0:24:11.560 Police are continuing to target stop cops to new protesters 0:24:11.600 --> 0:24:16.480 with extremely high bales. Just getting nine protesters released during 0:24:16.520 --> 0:24:20.080 one week cost over a hundred thousand dollars, So please, 0:24:20.119 --> 0:24:24.040 if you're able to consider donating to the Atlanta Solidarity Fund. 0:24:24.359 --> 0:24:28.080 There will will be links in the description. So that 0:24:28.240 --> 0:24:30.640 was the raid that took place a few weeks ago. 0:24:31.160 --> 0:24:34.800 Six tree houses were destroyed. And those tree houses weren't 0:24:34.840 --> 0:24:36.920 just like tree sets to defend the forest. These were 0:24:36.920 --> 0:24:39.600 also like people's homes like that that that's where people 0:24:39.600 --> 0:24:43.400 were living. Uh so six six of those were destroyed. 0:24:43.680 --> 0:24:49.440 Multiple force defenders, personal belongings were stolen or just dismantled 0:24:49.520 --> 0:24:53.800 and decimated by the cops. And overall the raid was 0:24:53.800 --> 0:24:55.760 pretty bad. I mean, it's it kind of it kind 0:24:55.760 --> 0:24:58.960 of sucked. We will talk about what has happened since 0:24:59.000 --> 0:25:01.960 the raid. Would be come back from a little at break, 0:25:12.080 --> 0:25:16.239 all right, we are back after the raid. Officers from 0:25:16.280 --> 0:25:21.399