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Speaker 1: A lot of things have changed in the woods since

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Speaker 1: I visited last year. The entrenchment Creek Park trailhead at

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Speaker 1: Wallani People's Park is now basically a massive mud pit,

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Speaker 1: the trees cut down and all the grass gone. Sidewalks

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Speaker 1: and bike paths have all been turned into rubble. As

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Speaker 1: we talked about in the last episode, the police have

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Speaker 1: been increasingly destructive during their more and more frequent raids

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Speaker 1: on the forest. In the past year, the cops have

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Speaker 1: demolished dozens of treehouses and targeted protesters with escalatory tactics.

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Speaker 1: The last thirteen people who have been arrested near the

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Speaker 1: forest have all been charged with domestic terrorism for their

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Speaker 1: mere association with the stop Coop City movement. As hard

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Speaker 1: as the cops are making it to continue being in

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Speaker 1: the woods, there is still something undeniably special about being

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Speaker 1: in community in the forest, or else people wouldn't be

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Speaker 1: risking life and legal consequences.

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Speaker 2: Living in the woods for me was like a dream.

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Speaker 2: I came to the woods because I was homeless and

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Speaker 2: unemployed and was actually living in different woods by myself,

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Speaker 2: and to actually came to the woods for similar reasons.

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Speaker 2: Tort lost their housing in Tallahassee and decided to give

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Speaker 2: this place a try as a place to live.

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Speaker 3: In the forest, there was always over time just developed

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Speaker 3: like you know, people built coffee shops and like a

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Speaker 3: kitchen people used and places for people to just like

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Speaker 3: I know, and that continued build time. I never stopped,

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Speaker 3: will never stop better and they never stopped making life

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Speaker 3: out better as as comfortable, as comfortable and as welcoming

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Speaker 3: and as a community best as possible. And that's really

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Speaker 3: the best thing I feel like I could I could

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Speaker 3: speak to one.

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Speaker 4: It is that no matter what was going on, and.

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Speaker 3: People were always working to make the forest as as

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Speaker 3: welcoming out a spaceh to as many people as possible

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Speaker 3: as they could.

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Speaker 1: The night of the December thirteenth police raid, Tortuguito went

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Speaker 1: back to the camp in Willani People's Park to start

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Speaker 1: rebuilding after police tore down the encampments and protest infrastructure

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Speaker 1: just hours prior.

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Speaker 2: I've never experienced such emotional and material security as I

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Speaker 2: have living in the Willauni Forest because there are a

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Speaker 2: community of people that are dedicated to taking care of

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Speaker 2: each other and making sure that we all have our

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Speaker 2: needs met. And that was something that tort and I

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Speaker 2: did for each other, often making sure that we had

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Speaker 2: enough water and food and rides to places. It's really

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Speaker 2: a wonderful place to live, and I've also deep in

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Speaker 2: my relationship to the earth being there, Like living with

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Speaker 2: the same trees for over a year is a really

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Speaker 2: profound experience. And also it's a really stressful place and

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Speaker 2: people are always butting heads in really interesting ways, but

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Speaker 2: we're committed to remaining in relationship with each other. As

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Speaker 2: part of the magic, too, is that if you get

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Speaker 2: into a fight with someone at camp, you don't just

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Speaker 2: you know, like move to a different apartment and stop

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Speaker 2: talking to them, like they're still around and there's still

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Speaker 2: a comrade. So we're committed to each other in a

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Speaker 2: way that's it's rare to find in this society.

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Speaker 1: Here is Cricket talking about the type of support everyone

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Speaker 1: has for each other in the movement and how Torte

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Speaker 1: really embodied that.

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Speaker 5: I think one of the things I've seen in my

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Speaker 5: experience with the movement is just the tremendous amount of

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Speaker 5: care that everyone has for one another. You don't have

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Speaker 5: to know one another, we don't have to be on

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Speaker 5: a legal name basis, and we still fight for one another.

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Speaker 5: We still protect one another, we still try to save

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Speaker 5: one another, and that is something I saw tort embody regularly,

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Speaker 5: and I'm grateful to everyone who has helped keep me safe.

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Speaker 5: And I always, yeah, I'm always trying to keep everyone

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Speaker 5: else safe in any capacity that I can. So we've

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Speaker 5: done a lot of safety trainings. Something that Tort was

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Speaker 5: a really big part of was medic medic trainings, making

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Speaker 5: sure that people have access to life saving techniques and

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Speaker 5: skills that are often kept away from really vulnerable folks.

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Speaker 5: So that is something we've been trying to contribute and

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Speaker 5: that we're trying to continue now that tort is no

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Speaker 5: longer with us. We were supposed to meet yesterday to

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Speaker 5: put together a curriculum of marginalized, vulnerable people who face

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Speaker 5: gun violence both from the state and from right wing

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Speaker 5: neo Nazi fascists, you name it, and will be continuing

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Speaker 5: that work in their name.

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Speaker 1: When spending time in the Wilani Forest and even for

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Speaker 1: the many peripheral aspects of the movement, people will choose

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Speaker 1: a forest name. It's like a nickname that helps your

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Speaker 1: legal identity and nom de plume. Many chose Tortigita, which

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Speaker 1: is Spanish for little turtle. But it wasn't just chosen

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Speaker 1: for its cute animal association. I'll read from bitter Southerner quote.

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Speaker 1: It was a nod to the colonial era indigenous military

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Speaker 1: commander of the same name, who led Native American forces

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Speaker 1: to one of their most decisive victories against the then

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Speaker 1: nascent US army in seventeen ninety one. Now, Tort was

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Speaker 1: allegedly apprehensive to share the meaning behind their chosen name

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Speaker 1: with a journalist who was interviewing them, because quote, that

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Speaker 1: does not make us look like peaceful protesters. We are

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Speaker 1: very peaceful people, I promise unquote. There is a few

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Speaker 1: other quotes attributed to Tort across various articles that seem

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Speaker 1: to espouse a belief in nonviolence as a tactical strategy. Quote,

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Speaker 1: it's incredibly important to continue having popular support. Copcity is

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Speaker 1: incredibly unpopular already. We're very popular. We're cool. We get

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Speaker 1: a lot of support from people who live here, and

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Speaker 1: that's important because we win through non violence. We're not

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Speaker 1: going to beat them at violence, but we can beat

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Speaker 1: them in public opinion in the courts. Even unquote. Based

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Speaker 1: on frequent phone calls with Tort about forced defense Tortighita's

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Speaker 1: own mother has shared similar sentiments about Towrt's politics, saying

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Speaker 1: they quote carry no malice quote. I'm gonna read one

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Speaker 1: more quote from Torti Ghita about this topic. The right

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Speaker 1: kind of resistance is peaceful, because that's where we win.

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Speaker 1: We're not going to beat them at violence. They're very,

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Speaker 1: very good at violence. We're not. We win through nonviolence.

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Speaker 1: That's really the only way we can win. We don't

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Speaker 1: want more people to die. We don't want Atlanta to

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Speaker 1: turn into a war zone. During my time in Atlanta,

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Speaker 1: I wanted to learn as much as possible about Torta Gita,

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Speaker 1: about who they were as a person, what kind of

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Speaker 1: stuff they enjoyed doing, what they were to the movement,

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Speaker 1: but mostly just listen to people's stories and memories of Torte.

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Speaker 1: Peter met Torte just shortly after they moved to Atlanta.

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Speaker 2: So I met tort in May of twenty two, around

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Speaker 2: the time when they first got to the forest from Tallahassee.

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Speaker 2: I met them during that week of action, and they

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Speaker 2: were like insanely enthusiastic about being there. We met around

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Speaker 2: a fire and talked about how our enthusiasm for life

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Speaker 2: sometimes offended people. That was something that we had in common.

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Speaker 2: They talked about their mom a lot. I won't say

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Speaker 2: I was a close friend of Tort's, but I was

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Speaker 2: a dear comrade to them, and being in relationship with

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Speaker 2: them really sharpened my conflict skills. I was in a

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Speaker 2: few different conflict with Tort and also on the sidelines

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Speaker 2: for some conflicts that they had with other people, and

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Speaker 2: I learned a lot about how to be more gentle

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Speaker 2: with my comrades and how to give people more grace

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Speaker 2: in times of high stress.

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Speaker 1: This is a snippet from my conversation with Cricket on

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Speaker 1: what TORTI Ghita brought to the movement and how they

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Speaker 1: really lived their politics.

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Speaker 5: Tort was hilarious. They were someone who always brought fun

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Speaker 5: to whatever they were doing. And I'm sure through the

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Speaker 5: folks that you're seeing, the folks that people can see

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Speaker 5: on social media with like the outpour and of support

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Speaker 5: for Tort, that they were involved in so many different groups,

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Speaker 5: like so many different causes, and they were an incredibly

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Speaker 5: dedicated activists, but someone who really felt that resistance could

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Speaker 5: be fun, could be joyful, could be celebratory. Uh, it

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Speaker 5: was always an opportunity to meet new people, to hug

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Speaker 5: new people. They were a big hugger. They were someone

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Speaker 5: who was always checking in on other people. They were

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Speaker 5: someone who was always there to lend a hand, either

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Speaker 5: literally or or or metaphorically. And they really inspired I

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Speaker 5: think a lot of people, And I think that that

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Speaker 5: was something huge that they contributed to the movement, not

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Speaker 5: just as a person, but also bringing that joyfulness, bringing

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Speaker 5: that that energy, that passion and excitement. Uh really inspired

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Speaker 5: me and inspired a lot of people.

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Speaker 1: It's funny, a lot of the people I've talked to

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Speaker 1: were like have have like mentioned just because of the

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Speaker 1: different like you know, affinity groups that they've been in

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Speaker 1: and stuff. There's like a lot of people I've talked

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Speaker 1: to you have talked have mentioned a lot like that

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Speaker 1: they would not like regularly, but like everyone you know,

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Speaker 1: like get into conflicts with toar it like there was

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Speaker 1: there was someone who you would you would sometimes who

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Speaker 1: there would be just happened to be disagreements with. But

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Speaker 1: despite disagreements, they were like one of the kindest people

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Speaker 1: that they met. Even when they're you know, arguing about something.

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Speaker 1: It's like they would go so far to make sure

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Speaker 1: that other people knew that they were like cared for

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Speaker 1: and would would got just be very open towards like

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Speaker 1: everybody they meet.

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Speaker 5: Yeah, I think they really tried to live into and

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Speaker 5: walk the walk of abolition and noncarceral conflict of it's

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Speaker 5: okay to disagree, and disagreement doesn't mean that you got

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Speaker 5: to get kicked out. It does not mean that you're

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Speaker 5: a bad person. They allowed for complexity and allowed for

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Speaker 5: processes of working through things, of talking through things, and

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Speaker 5: that's a huge gift. I mean, I think anyone, regardless

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Speaker 5: of their level of activism, can relate to the idea

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Speaker 5: that it's hard to disagree, it's hard to be in

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Speaker 5: conflicts sometimes. But I do think that they were really

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Speaker 5: committed to building relationships of trust where you could disagree,

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Speaker 5: where you could have different opinions, but that there was

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Speaker 5: still so much love and still so much care, and

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Speaker 5: that those things were not themselves in conflict. Those things

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Speaker 5: were actually very very much related. And yeah, no, it

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Speaker 5: was They're special and yeah, I'm just I'm just sorry,

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Speaker 5: I'm just heartbroken.

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Speaker 1: Tortighita's partner and a close friend of theirs, recorded a

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Speaker 1: video shortly after the shooting, just talking about who Torteghita

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Speaker 1: was and how they lived in community. I got permission

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Speaker 1: from their partner to use clips from that video in

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Speaker 1: this episode. Tour was always a.

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Speaker 6: Very welcoming presence. They're always one of the greatest organizers

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Speaker 6: we had out there. They took care of everyone who

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Speaker 6: came through. They always want to make sure everyone was

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Speaker 6: taken care of. They were the ones who would welcome

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Speaker 6: you into the forest and they would make sure you

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Speaker 6: have a sleeping bag, a sleeping pad, attent, whatever you

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Speaker 6: could possibly need. Always making sure people are getting fed,

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Speaker 6: and just kind of like transparent you've ever had.

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Speaker 1: One of the people I spent with. Noah also talked

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Speaker 1: about how Tortigito was quick to welcome people into the

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Speaker 1: movement a new.

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Speaker 3: Tour through various actions, center in the forest and doing

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Speaker 3: medical work with them.

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Speaker 4: I think I think a lot of people have ever

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Speaker 4: good this, but I remember them as being one of.

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Speaker 3: The kindest and most welcoming people that I ever met

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Speaker 3: working on the forest.

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Speaker 4: Kind of whenever new people comment, was very like.

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Speaker 3: Very often kind of like one of the first people

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Speaker 3: to greet them and was always very like open to

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Speaker 3: letting people come and see and be a part of

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Speaker 3: the community that had been established out in the woods.

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Speaker 4: It was a very it was an extremely welcome in person.

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Speaker 4: They were a very welcome in person.

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Speaker 3: I was always willing to put there to help somebody

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Speaker 3: out and to do the work it took to make

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Speaker 3: sure that the community was safe out there and that

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Speaker 3: it could continue.

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Speaker 1: So much of the stuff around the forest, it's all

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Speaker 1: about like the militants in the woods, and toward kind

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Speaker 1: of fell into that category, you know, people who are

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Speaker 1: wearing black lavas camping out in the forest. Most of

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Speaker 1: the people I've interviewed are also more on that side

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Speaker 1: of things, but not everyone feels like they have the

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Speaker 1: ability to put on a ski mask and live in

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Speaker 1: the woods. One of the people I spoke with was

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Speaker 1: a mother named Karen, who started doing local neighborhood organizing

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Speaker 1: after connecting with Torti Ghita last summer.

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Speaker 7: So I met tort Less summer and there was like

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Speaker 7: lots of things happening in the park, and you know,

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Speaker 7: I'm a neighbor, and so I was the who really

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Speaker 7: fought for you know, tried to get the city council

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Speaker 7: to vote against it. And so I was interested, you know,

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Speaker 7: curious and interested about all of these events happening at

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Speaker 7: the park. They were all like mostly at night time,

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Speaker 7: and I have a toddler, and so I'm like boring

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Speaker 7: and have a strict bedtime, so I don't, you know,

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Speaker 7: go out at night time. So I was like trying

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Speaker 7: to find a place for me and like people like me,

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Speaker 7: and oh they're boring, you know, parents. And so I

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Speaker 7: got connected with Tort and we start We started, I

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Speaker 7: guess going during the daytime and I'm taking my toddler

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Speaker 7: over there to the park to explore, and you know,

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Speaker 7: we Tort and I talked a lot about well, at first,

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Speaker 7: they were really excited about all the the idea, like

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Speaker 7: children being at the park. They really wanted it the

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Speaker 7: park to be for everyone. I'm very much like a

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Speaker 7: neighborhood mom. I was new to activism and I.

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Speaker 4: Didn't even know.

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Speaker 7: I was like, you know, I thought we were just

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Speaker 7: like visiting a park, but you know, there's like a

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Speaker 7: whole lot of different things about being in it that

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Speaker 7: Tort really kind of helped me navigate and showed me around.

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Speaker 1: In my experience, it takes a special kind of person

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Speaker 1: to on board somebody new to this sort of thing.

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Speaker 1: Some anarchists can come off as a bit pompous sometimes

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Speaker 1: or at least hesitant to welcome new people in. Karen

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Speaker 1: spoke on how Tortighita kind of showed them the rope

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Speaker 1: and helped educate on everything from local organizing to security culture.

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Speaker 7: Well, I didn't have signal before. I was like, okay,

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Speaker 7: I want to reach out to try and make my

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Speaker 7: neighborhood aware. I made flyers and just like put like

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Speaker 7: the environmental effects, you know, and I send it to

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Speaker 7: tort and they were like, okay, yeah, this looks good.

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Speaker 7: And then I was like, should it just be like

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Speaker 7: anonymous or should I you know, like make like Instagram

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Speaker 7: or should I put my name on it and you

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Speaker 7: know all those things? Should I put my number on it?

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Speaker 7: And they were like, okay, well, get a Google Voice

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Speaker 7: number and you can set up like an email for it,

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Speaker 7: maybe use Proton. Then I was like, should I just

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Speaker 7: like I don't have to put any information on it,

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Speaker 7: but like, what if you know there's people like me

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Speaker 7: in the neighborhood. I guess, like, how do you balance that?

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Speaker 7: And they said no, I think if you got to

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Speaker 7: like organize a neighborhood group, it would be sick. So yeah,

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Speaker 7: you know, they were conscious of all those things, but

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Speaker 7: also knew where, when and where it was like appropriate,

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Speaker 7: and we just like bounced ideas back and forth. They

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Speaker 7: really helped me like navigate that. I really think it

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Speaker 7: just shows how inclusive they were that they like how

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Speaker 7: they were engaged with me and like you know, an

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Speaker 7: older neighborhood mom. But they were really supportive and you know,

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Speaker 7: I guess made me feel valued, never made me feel

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Speaker 7: embarrassed at anything. I think it was just like if

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Speaker 7: it wasn't about like the party or I don't know,

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Speaker 7: like being cool or anything. They just really wanted the

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Speaker 7: forest to be for everyone, and just how they were

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Speaker 7: like willing to engage with the community.

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Speaker 1: My conversations with Karen and others in Atlanta really showed

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Speaker 1: Tort as a person who was always thinking about others

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Speaker 1: and how to support the people around them, not even

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Speaker 1: just focusing on themselves while living in the forest, but

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Speaker 1: working to expand that care outwards.

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Speaker 7: So, yeah, I made this flyer and Tort called a

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Speaker 7: bunch of other I know if they were people that

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Speaker 7: were in the forest or just people and you know,

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Speaker 7: friends or whatever, but and was like, hey, we're all

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Speaker 7: going to go canvas and I think they slept in

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Speaker 7: that day we met at the park, but me and

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Speaker 7: a couple of neighbors met, like you know, and I

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Speaker 7: was like, I had zero expectations. And they texted me

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Speaker 7: later and was like, I'm so sorry, but we'll do

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Speaker 7: it again. But yeah, just that, you know, like they

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Speaker 7: were willing to come put flyers door to door and yeah,

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Speaker 7: just like support me in that way.

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Speaker 1: Karen has continued to do neighborhood organizing since meeting Tort

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Speaker 1: last summer and is a great example of the variety

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Speaker 1: of people involved in the Defend the Atlanta Forest movement.

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Speaker 1: Based on the many local people she's spoken with, Karen

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Speaker 1: says the stop Coppacity proposal is pretty unpopular in the area.

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Speaker 7: So yeah, we've just been like dropping flyers off and

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Speaker 7: just letting them know the environmental effects. And everyone we've

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Speaker 7: talked to like, you know, no one wants it, and

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Speaker 7: I think lots of people, lots of them called in,

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Speaker 7: you know, to city council. But yeah, I guess Tort

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Speaker 7: and I in our kind of idea was like if

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Speaker 7: we can make a space. It's like, you know, they

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Speaker 7: may not want to go to the forest, but if

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Speaker 7: we can kind of create a space for them in

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Speaker 7: the movement.

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Speaker 1: Cricket talked about the many projects that Tort had a

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Speaker 1: hand in and it's willingness to just go out there

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Speaker 1: and do things, not just sit around and wait for

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Speaker 1: the world to get better. They lived anarchism in a

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Speaker 1: very active way.

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Speaker 5: I don't know if anyone mentioned the trans Sanctuary that

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Speaker 5: Tort built and helped built and helped organize. I just

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Speaker 5: wanted to uplift that as just another sort of amazing

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Speaker 5: project that they were involved with. I remember hearing about it.

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Speaker 5: Tort talked about it and they were like, oh, yeah,

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Speaker 5: you know, we're going to have a volunteer day. And

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Speaker 5: then two weeks later we had like another little check

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Speaker 5: in and they were like, oh yeah, no, we like

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Speaker 5: did it. And I was like, excuse me, Like I

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Speaker 5: just just I don't know, they were just like this

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Speaker 5: this Tasmanian devil of social justice. Like I felt like

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Speaker 5: they were just constantly on the move getting stuff done,

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Speaker 5: supporting people. It's just it was I don't know, like

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Speaker 5: that's just another memory that I keep revisiting of just

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Speaker 5: being like, oh my god, they are not paralyzed like

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Speaker 5: they are living. They were living day to day right,

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Speaker 5: like they knew that tomorrow could bring another raid. Like

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Speaker 5: they Yeah, they weren't stupid, they were really actually brilliant

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Speaker 5: and they could just they just lived every day so

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Speaker 5: fully and brought everything.

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Speaker 1: They had a friend of Tortighita's that goes by the

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Speaker 1: name Levitate the Pentagon, which is definitely in the top

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Speaker 1: three force names that I've heard. But they gave a

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Speaker 1: statement to Rolling Stone where they said, quote Tortighita was

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Speaker 1: a proud and fierce anarchist. The struggle for a total

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Speaker 1: liberation came as their first commitment in life. We must

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Speaker 1: honor that commitment.

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Speaker 4: From a lot of the like none other trends that

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Speaker 4: we did together times out there, they were just really fun,

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Speaker 4: very to make.

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Speaker 3: People have be like a very common presence during stressful times,

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Speaker 3: and they could make like a jerk really out of

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Speaker 3: like a any situation.

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Speaker 4: But a lot of I remember like a lot of.

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Speaker 3: Conversations just about what we were doing in the forest,

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Speaker 3: and there are like reasons for being out there, and

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Speaker 3: they're you know, just kind of outgoing these ideas of

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Speaker 3: combating the you know, the state, and then then the

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Speaker 3: states pushed.

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Speaker 4: For you know, destroying the forest.

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Speaker 3: For the effects that would have on the climate, for

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Speaker 3: the increasing ability of the place to militarize and to

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Speaker 3: suppress not just people in Atlanta, but law enforcement agencies

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Speaker 3: across the country.

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Speaker 4: Coming to train at the facility to better climp down

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Speaker 4: on a presence. Yeah, they were just they're really kind,

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Speaker 4: very tenacious. That's like the two things I can always

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Speaker 4: kind of come back to.

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Speaker 1: So there was a person towards capacity for wit under

378
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Speaker 1: high stress situations is something I heard from a lot

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Speaker 1: of different people, including towards friends and their partner.

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Speaker 8: Just really really like always like had a joke, had

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Speaker 8: like a really like good sharp commentary.

382
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Speaker 9: Or would like give you like a cigarette professional ship poster. Yeah, yeah,

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Speaker 9: I mean their mean game on point.

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Speaker 10: Yeah, and.

385
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Speaker 8: Just always like doing a lot of things.

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Speaker 9: And so they were running around a lot, like getting

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Speaker 9: things for people and then hanging it off to them,

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Speaker 9: and so like, yeah, I think a lot of the

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Speaker 9: times when we would run into like for like oftentimes

390
00:21:47,400 --> 00:21:50,600
Speaker 9: we run into each other, it'd be like, oh, hey, hi, Hi, Okay,

391
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Speaker 9: we're doing a thing, and then like okay, I gotta

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Speaker 9: go buy you know, and there's always like.

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Speaker 11: Yeah, I like that.

394
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Speaker 1: Sure, they were super into that.

395
00:22:02,600 --> 00:22:03,399
Speaker 4: Oh that smile.

396
00:22:03,880 --> 00:22:04,080
Speaker 12: Yeah.

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Speaker 5: They love fruit snacks, loved them, couldn't get enough of them.

398
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Speaker 5: And they always helped do the dishes. Can I just say,

399
00:22:11,880 --> 00:22:14,879
Speaker 5: like that's a big deal. Yeah, Like no one likes

400
00:22:14,920 --> 00:22:17,120
Speaker 5: doing the dishes. It's like they were always there doing

401
00:22:17,160 --> 00:22:19,360
Speaker 5: the dishes. They were like, oh my god, running water,

402
00:22:19,440 --> 00:22:21,840
Speaker 5: hot water, like I'm in like like they're like, oh

403
00:22:21,920 --> 00:22:24,200
Speaker 5: my god, and just like yeah, that's that's what I

404
00:22:24,240 --> 00:22:26,119
Speaker 5: want people to know. Fruit snacks and dishes.

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Speaker 1: Fruit snacks have come up a lot throughout my conversations

406
00:22:30,560 --> 00:22:35,600
Speaker 1: with people. Tortiquita's partner and friend also talked about how

407
00:22:35,720 --> 00:22:39,880
Speaker 1: tort tried to balance helping other people with their own

408
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Speaker 1: self care.

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Speaker 6: They were always so passionate to it because they want

410
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Speaker 6: to help people so bad that they would put their

411
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Speaker 6: all into it. And it took a toll all on

412
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Speaker 6: them in a lot of ways, but they always were

413
00:22:53,800 --> 00:22:57,080
Speaker 6: so fucking strong and took on so much more than

414
00:22:57,640 --> 00:23:04,320
Speaker 6: I ever could. They they're an inspiration to us all.

415
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Speaker 8: They also needed to like disappear for like hours or

416
00:23:08,200 --> 00:23:09,359
Speaker 8: days at a time, and just.

417
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Speaker 1: Like rechart, they read a lot.

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Speaker 6: Oh yeah, I am one of the like one of

419
00:23:14,640 --> 00:23:16,600
Speaker 6: the things to be sitting in their hammock and our

420
00:23:16,680 --> 00:23:21,000
Speaker 6: tent near with their tent and just be reading doing

421
00:23:21,119 --> 00:23:24,280
Speaker 6: whatever it was they were doing, shit and posts and whatever.

422
00:23:24,800 --> 00:23:29,199
Speaker 6: They get to distress. They were good about taking care

423
00:23:29,200 --> 00:23:33,280
Speaker 6: of themselves, but they didn't get into some conundrums or

424
00:23:33,320 --> 00:23:35,320
Speaker 6: they'd get stressed out and then you just see them

425
00:23:35,600 --> 00:23:38,440
Speaker 6: like go off on their own and then come back

426
00:23:38,440 --> 00:23:40,160
Speaker 6: in a few days and then they're all good again,

427
00:23:41,280 --> 00:23:42,080
Speaker 6: have happy, go lucky.

428
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Speaker 7: I've heard them described as kind, and they definitely were.

429
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Speaker 7: I think the word that comes to mind the most

430
00:23:49,000 --> 00:23:53,440
Speaker 7: is earnest. They were just like incredibly earnest. I think

431
00:23:53,760 --> 00:23:56,840
Speaker 7: like the earnestness I'm talking about is like they truly

432
00:23:56,920 --> 00:23:59,960
Speaker 7: live their politics like anyone can talk about like include

433
00:24:00,080 --> 00:24:03,359
Speaker 7: civity and love and fighting for the future, but they actually,

434
00:24:03,840 --> 00:24:06,600
Speaker 7: you know, just in how they carried themselves and interacted

435
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Speaker 7: with me.

436
00:24:07,000 --> 00:24:07,720
Speaker 4: They really did that.

437
00:24:08,600 --> 00:24:11,040
Speaker 7: And lots of people might be like cynical about it

438
00:24:11,240 --> 00:24:14,719
Speaker 7: or maybe call them like optimistic or naive, but they

439
00:24:14,800 --> 00:24:19,720
Speaker 7: actually lived. I feel like love sounds corny, but yeah,

440
00:24:20,040 --> 00:24:23,040
Speaker 7: just like a love for people and nature in the forest.

441
00:24:23,920 --> 00:24:29,880
Speaker 8: What was that piece we were talking about? Revolutionary death? Yes, yes, yeah,

442
00:24:29,920 --> 00:24:32,639
Speaker 8: they read that this last summer, and it really had

443
00:24:32,680 --> 00:24:37,320
Speaker 8: a strong impact upon them and they I think you

444
00:24:37,440 --> 00:24:38,600
Speaker 8: were sharing as.

445
00:24:38,480 --> 00:24:40,360
Speaker 4: Well that they had spoken about.

446
00:24:42,280 --> 00:24:46,919
Speaker 8: How they knew it was very possible that they were

447
00:24:46,960 --> 00:24:50,159
Speaker 8: going to have this revolutionary death, and that.

448
00:24:53,600 --> 00:24:56,600
Speaker 6: Back to them kind of giving their all. They were

449
00:24:56,640 --> 00:25:05,480
Speaker 6: prepared and they unfortunately paid the ultimate price. That's said

450
00:25:05,480 --> 00:25:06,159
Speaker 6: as we all are.

451
00:25:06,280 --> 00:25:07,520
Speaker 4: I'm sure.

452
00:25:08,960 --> 00:25:11,480
Speaker 6: George Keito, wherever they are now, I was happy to

453
00:25:11,600 --> 00:25:15,479
Speaker 6: know that they gave they're all all until the end.

454
00:25:16,280 --> 00:25:21,240
Speaker 6: They were always they were a true revolutionary and gave

455
00:25:21,320 --> 00:25:25,239
Speaker 6: their all to this movement. And I think now it's

456
00:25:25,320 --> 00:25:28,040
Speaker 6: our job to take up that banner and carry on

457
00:25:28,160 --> 00:25:29,520
Speaker 6: his name, their name.

458
00:25:30,680 --> 00:25:35,120
Speaker 1: In multiple ways, escalatory actions of police last December led

459
00:25:35,200 --> 00:25:39,120
Speaker 1: to the current fatal scenario, not just with the domestic

460
00:25:39,240 --> 00:25:43,399
Speaker 1: terror framing as a pretext for using increased force, but

461
00:25:43,600 --> 00:25:47,840
Speaker 1: also the physical destruction of treehouses resulting in people being

462
00:25:48,160 --> 00:25:49,960
Speaker 1: out in more vulnerable positions.

463
00:25:50,960 --> 00:25:55,400
Speaker 2: They were very calculated in their risks and they would

464
00:25:55,480 --> 00:25:58,680
Speaker 2: never have had to be put in this situation if

465
00:25:58,720 --> 00:26:02,800
Speaker 2: they're home in the trees hadn't been destroyed. They lived

466
00:26:02,840 --> 00:26:06,040
Speaker 2: in a tree house, and the treehouse that they were

467
00:26:06,080 --> 00:26:10,440
Speaker 2: really holding down and staying in was bulldozed in the

468
00:26:10,560 --> 00:26:11,400
Speaker 2: mid December raids.

469
00:26:32,240 --> 00:26:36,200
Speaker 1: On November twenty first, two thousand and six, undercover Atlanta

470
00:26:36,200 --> 00:26:40,119
Speaker 1: Police Department officers executed a no knock warrant on the

471
00:26:40,240 --> 00:26:43,920
Speaker 1: home of ninety two year old Catherine Johnston in the

472
00:26:44,080 --> 00:26:48,440
Speaker 1: Bankhead neighborhood of Atlanta. Police claimed to have evidence that

473
00:26:48,720 --> 00:26:52,679
Speaker 1: crack cocaine was being sold out of the house. Officers

474
00:26:52,800 --> 00:26:55,879
Speaker 1: in plane clothes cut off the burglar bars to Johnston's

475
00:26:55,920 --> 00:26:59,840
Speaker 1: home of seventeen years and broke down her door. According

476
00:26:59,840 --> 00:27:02,040
Speaker 1: to the police, the ninety two year old woman shot

477
00:27:02,240 --> 00:27:05,919
Speaker 1: several officers. Multiple cops were treated for a gunshot wounds.

478
00:27:06,680 --> 00:27:09,480
Speaker 1: Catherine Johnston was shot and killed by the police in

479
00:27:09,600 --> 00:27:12,520
Speaker 1: her own home, where police then claimed to have found

480
00:27:12,640 --> 00:27:15,600
Speaker 1: marijuana thanks to an informant who said that they bought

481
00:27:15,720 --> 00:27:19,879
Speaker 1: drugs at the house, except every single thing the police

482
00:27:19,960 --> 00:27:24,280
Speaker 1: claimed was a lie. Earlier that day, an officer had

483
00:27:24,359 --> 00:27:27,520
Speaker 1: found bags of marijuana in the woods. The drugs were

484
00:27:27,560 --> 00:27:30,639
Speaker 1: planted on a suspected dealer who didn't have any drugs

485
00:27:30,720 --> 00:27:33,760
Speaker 1: on him. The officer threatened to arrest the suspected dealer

486
00:27:34,119 --> 00:27:36,919
Speaker 1: if he didn't give up information, leading to an arrest,

487
00:27:37,720 --> 00:27:40,200
Speaker 1: the man gave the police an address on a Neil

488
00:27:40,240 --> 00:27:43,920
Speaker 1: Street and a fake name to buy cocaine with. The

489
00:27:44,000 --> 00:27:47,119
Speaker 1: APD claimed the police were raiding the house because an

490
00:27:47,160 --> 00:27:51,160
Speaker 1: informant had bought crack at Johnston's home. It turns out

491
00:27:51,480 --> 00:27:54,920
Speaker 1: all of the injuries to officers came from friendly fire.

492
00:27:55,560 --> 00:27:59,560
Speaker 1: They fucked up their own guys. The cops fired a

493
00:27:59,640 --> 00:28:02,920
Speaker 1: total of thirty nine shots, five or six of which

494
00:28:03,200 --> 00:28:07,280
Speaker 1: hit Johnston. As a ninety two year old woman living alone,

495
00:28:07,760 --> 00:28:11,680
Speaker 1: she owned a rusty revolver for self defense. As these

496
00:28:11,840 --> 00:28:16,040
Speaker 1: unannounced strangers in plain clothes kicked down her door, Johnston

497
00:28:16,200 --> 00:28:20,760
Speaker 1: did fire once and missed. Three police officers in Atlanta

498
00:28:21,040 --> 00:28:25,399
Speaker 1: executed Catherine Johnston as they shot each other with friendly fire.

499
00:28:26,000 --> 00:28:28,760
Speaker 1: To cover this up, they lied and planted evidence. They

500
00:28:28,960 --> 00:28:32,760
Speaker 1: ran a smear campaign against Johnston, further victimizing the old

501
00:28:32,840 --> 00:28:36,640
Speaker 1: woman that they killed and who the cops knew was innocent.

502
00:28:37,600 --> 00:28:40,200
Speaker 1: The police in Atlanta have a track record of shooting

503
00:28:40,240 --> 00:28:44,120
Speaker 1: each other, killing civilians, and lying about it. With that

504
00:28:44,360 --> 00:28:47,680
Speaker 1: history in mind, this next part might get a little complicated,

505
00:28:47,840 --> 00:28:51,400
Speaker 1: but I think it's important. A lot of the people

506
00:28:51,560 --> 00:28:55,360
Speaker 1: who knew tort have talked about how they often advocated

507
00:28:55,440 --> 00:28:59,440
Speaker 1: for nonviolence in direct action. Many have said the sequence

508
00:28:59,440 --> 00:29:02,320
Speaker 1: of events put forth by police just doesn't sound like

509
00:29:02,440 --> 00:29:06,200
Speaker 1: something Torte would do, And I very much understand this reaction.

510
00:29:06,680 --> 00:29:09,360
Speaker 1: Police lie all the time, especially when it comes to

511
00:29:09,440 --> 00:29:13,120
Speaker 1: people the cops have killed. It is very likely that

512
00:29:13,320 --> 00:29:17,200
Speaker 1: tort really was just murdered by the cops. But I

513
00:29:17,320 --> 00:29:20,440
Speaker 1: also think there's part of this reaction that's almost like

514
00:29:20,520 --> 00:29:24,640
Speaker 1: a self preservation mechanism, stemming from a worry that if

515
00:29:24,640 --> 00:29:28,720
Speaker 1: a certain Pandora's box gets opened, what that would mean

516
00:29:28,840 --> 00:29:32,320
Speaker 1: for the movement and for the struggle against militarized police

517
00:29:32,560 --> 00:29:38,400
Speaker 1: and ecological collapse. More broadly, there's also many scenarios that

518
00:29:38,480 --> 00:29:41,240
Speaker 1: can lead to a brief exchange of gunfire, especially with

519
00:29:41,400 --> 00:29:46,240
Speaker 1: the Georgia State patrols relative inexperience conducting raids in the forest.

520
00:29:47,120 --> 00:29:51,720
Speaker 1: You can spend days just thinking of various possibilities for

521
00:29:51,800 --> 00:29:54,440
Speaker 1: what could have happened, as I'm sure many people in

522
00:29:54,480 --> 00:29:59,600
Speaker 1: Atlanta have. The recently released bodycam makes some things more clear,

523
00:30:00,160 --> 00:30:04,440
Speaker 1: but also opened up many possibilities to endlessly ruminate about,

524
00:30:04,960 --> 00:30:09,280
Speaker 1: especially with on the ground chatter indicating cops shot each other.

525
00:30:10,800 --> 00:30:13,720
Speaker 1: This next person is one of the original Force defenders

526
00:30:13,800 --> 00:30:17,200
Speaker 1: I interviewed for my previous Defend the Atlanta Forest series

527
00:30:17,360 --> 00:30:18,360
Speaker 1: from last May.

528
00:30:21,240 --> 00:30:30,080
Speaker 3: As their partner stated, as it's friends sated be moved

529
00:30:30,920 --> 00:30:37,440
Speaker 3: by a piece they did not show, from the idea

530
00:30:38,320 --> 00:30:45,680
Speaker 3: that they could for the things that they believe, from

531
00:30:45,760 --> 00:30:49,600
Speaker 3: the idea that they could be murder, from the ideas

532
00:30:49,680 --> 00:30:51,720
Speaker 3: that they believe in my life.

533
00:30:51,560 --> 00:30:52,320
Speaker 13: I went to live.

534
00:30:53,040 --> 00:31:00,480
Speaker 4: We should not dismiss the possibility and by people can

535
00:31:01,200 --> 00:31:02,240
Speaker 4: and maybe even should.

536
00:31:02,920 --> 00:31:06,240
Speaker 3: Look at this world, look at the police murdering three

537
00:31:06,360 --> 00:31:07,160
Speaker 3: or four people.

538
00:31:07,000 --> 00:31:10,280
Speaker 4: A day, of a climate catastrophe that we live in,

539
00:31:11,240 --> 00:31:12,360
Speaker 4: of the rising tide of.

540
00:31:12,400 --> 00:31:18,440
Speaker 3: Fascism, of the absolute fucking hell that we fucking live in,

541
00:31:19,640 --> 00:31:21,840
Speaker 3: and think this can't go on.

542
00:31:23,680 --> 00:31:26,360
Speaker 4: And I'm willing to do any of them and pay

543
00:31:26,560 --> 00:31:28,920
Speaker 4: any of them to make it stop.

544
00:31:30,440 --> 00:31:35,960
Speaker 14: We can't dismiss if that is a very real possible grievance.

545
00:31:36,960 --> 00:31:40,960
Speaker 14: There's a very real, impossible state.

546
00:31:40,720 --> 00:31:45,040
Speaker 4: Of mind, and that if that was towards.

547
00:31:46,640 --> 00:31:51,160
Speaker 15: Was towards get us, If those cameras, if that was

548
00:31:51,280 --> 00:31:56,880
Speaker 15: its position, that it is not alone that.

549
00:31:58,280 --> 00:32:06,360
Speaker 4: I undoubtedly in our willingness to die for we believe.

550
00:32:06,040 --> 00:32:11,960
Speaker 1: In TORTI Ghita both privately and publicly talked about an

551
00:32:12,000 --> 00:32:16,880
Speaker 1: appreciation for nonviolence as a long term strategy, and the

552
00:32:16,960 --> 00:32:20,840
Speaker 1: flip side of that is Tort has also been described

553
00:32:20,880 --> 00:32:24,720
Speaker 1: to me as somebody who acts with intention, acts with

554
00:32:24,920 --> 00:32:28,680
Speaker 1: great thought, and if they did decide to do something,

555
00:32:29,360 --> 00:32:31,640
Speaker 1: they would have had a good reason to and they

556
00:32:31,720 --> 00:32:34,200
Speaker 1: would not have chosen to do something if it had

557
00:32:34,200 --> 00:32:38,600
Speaker 1: the potential to put fellow forced defenders in unnecessary danger.

558
00:32:39,680 --> 00:32:43,640
Speaker 1: Based on some of my conversations, while Tort advocated for

559
00:32:43,760 --> 00:32:48,240
Speaker 1: the potential of nonviolence as a political strategy, they itself

560
00:32:48,320 --> 00:32:52,800
Speaker 1: were not solely nonviolent. The Atlanta Police Foundation have lied

561
00:32:52,840 --> 00:32:56,120
Speaker 1: about every single aspect of this project's development since the start.

562
00:32:56,760 --> 00:32:58,960
Speaker 1: The GBI said that there was no body cam footage,

563
00:32:59,080 --> 00:33:02,280
Speaker 1: and the police have than the last year fine tuning

564
00:33:02,360 --> 00:33:05,440
Speaker 1: their propaganda to frame the Defend the Forest movement as

565
00:33:05,520 --> 00:33:09,600
Speaker 1: a criminal enterprise and anyone protesting against copp City as

566
00:33:09,680 --> 00:33:14,280
Speaker 1: a dangerous terrorist and threat to public safety. But there

567
00:33:14,360 --> 00:33:17,920
Speaker 1: is a difference between mindlessly believing the police narrative and

568
00:33:18,520 --> 00:33:23,280
Speaker 1: trying to not retroactively take away somebody's agency, especially if

569
00:33:23,320 --> 00:33:26,000
Speaker 1: they did make a decision that they thought was the

570
00:33:26,120 --> 00:33:28,520
Speaker 1: right choice given the circumstance.

571
00:33:30,440 --> 00:33:33,600
Speaker 4: Around the ideas. I think a lot of people have

572
00:33:34,680 --> 00:33:35,360
Speaker 4: been talking a.

573
00:33:35,360 --> 00:33:38,960
Speaker 3: Lot about trying to you know, there's a there's there's

574
00:33:39,040 --> 00:33:41,400
Speaker 3: narrative flaws and the police story about what happened in

575
00:33:41,480 --> 00:33:43,360
Speaker 3: that road, there's inconsistencies.

576
00:33:44,320 --> 00:33:47,320
Speaker 4: We just now photos of the gun that their allegen

577
00:33:47,520 --> 00:33:48,120
Speaker 4: a legend was.

578
00:33:48,200 --> 00:33:50,040
Speaker 3: Used, just like a couple of days ago, and it

579
00:33:50,160 --> 00:33:52,880
Speaker 3: was days after the GBI's initial evidence final report.

580
00:33:53,360 --> 00:33:55,680
Speaker 4: It doesn't all look suspicious that. I think.

581
00:33:56,400 --> 00:33:59,240
Speaker 3: The thing that's bothered me is that I would never

582
00:33:59,280 --> 00:34:02,720
Speaker 3: want to take away agency from someone who cannot speak

583
00:34:02,760 --> 00:34:04,880
Speaker 3: for themselves for an act that they may have committed.

584
00:34:05,520 --> 00:34:09,120
Speaker 3: If shot that cop, that was a shot fired in

585
00:34:09,239 --> 00:34:13,120
Speaker 3: liberation against the state that murders thousands of people and

586
00:34:13,400 --> 00:34:16,120
Speaker 3: destroys millions more for the car sooo system, the same

587
00:34:16,239 --> 00:34:20,400
Speaker 3: state that seeks to help the South River flood and

588
00:34:20,600 --> 00:34:24,120
Speaker 3: to make the soul Tony degrees ladder and to make Atlanta's.

589
00:34:23,680 --> 00:34:27,120
Speaker 4: Air quality go down. I would never want to take.

590
00:34:27,000 --> 00:34:30,120
Speaker 3: Agency away from my comrade to have done that when

591
00:34:30,200 --> 00:34:32,840
Speaker 3: they cannot speak for themselves. And I don't think anybody

592
00:34:33,280 --> 00:34:36,040
Speaker 3: should try and make it seem like make it seem

593
00:34:36,200 --> 00:34:36,719
Speaker 3: like it would have.

594
00:34:36,719 --> 00:34:38,439
Speaker 4: Been an unjustified act.

595
00:34:38,480 --> 00:34:40,360
Speaker 3: A shot fired at the police and defense of the

596
00:34:40,440 --> 00:34:43,400
Speaker 3: forest as a shot fired and self defense. Cops shoot

597
00:34:43,400 --> 00:34:46,240
Speaker 3: each other all the time, and actually they're terrible with firearms.

598
00:34:46,320 --> 00:34:49,640
Speaker 3: They're just not good at their jobs. GSP, I think,

599
00:34:49,800 --> 00:34:52,680
Speaker 3: as a specific agency is sometime.

600
00:34:52,440 --> 00:34:53,200
Speaker 4: To be focused on.

601
00:34:53,400 --> 00:34:55,880
Speaker 3: I'm more here. I've seen a lot of people kind

602
00:34:55,880 --> 00:34:58,040
Speaker 3: of wrap up GSP and APD and like the cab

603
00:34:58,120 --> 00:35:03,440
Speaker 3: PD as these very like just as one agency GSP

604
00:35:04,400 --> 00:35:07,320
Speaker 3: as Georgia State Patrol is under the direct command of

605
00:35:07,400 --> 00:35:11,160
Speaker 3: our governor and do not wear body cams as an

606
00:35:11,200 --> 00:35:12,040
Speaker 3: agency policy.

607
00:35:13,239 --> 00:35:14,800
Speaker 4: They were the governor strong troopers.

608
00:35:14,840 --> 00:35:19,040
Speaker 3: When he want something done violently and without accountability, that

609
00:35:19,160 --> 00:35:19,920
Speaker 3: is who he sends.

610
00:35:20,960 --> 00:35:24,080
Speaker 4: And you know, my reaction to all of this, whether

611
00:35:24,400 --> 00:35:29,040
Speaker 4: or not what the events transpired, is that our comrade

612
00:35:29,280 --> 00:35:31,439
Speaker 4: is that our comrade was murdered by the state, whether

613
00:35:31,560 --> 00:35:35,200
Speaker 4: or not they allegedly fired on an officer. I think

614
00:35:35,280 --> 00:35:37,640
Speaker 4: the solidarity and rage that people should show should be

615
00:35:37,680 --> 00:35:40,399
Speaker 4: the same either way. If it were to come out

616
00:35:40,560 --> 00:35:42,000
Speaker 4: that that.

617
00:35:42,120 --> 00:35:45,920
Speaker 3: Officer wasn't fact shot, I would be so disheartened if

618
00:35:46,000 --> 00:35:49,439
Speaker 3: people turned their back on our comrade who was slain

619
00:35:49,480 --> 00:35:51,560
Speaker 3: by the police for what I see as an act

620
00:35:51,560 --> 00:35:52,280
Speaker 3: of self defense.

621
00:35:53,680 --> 00:35:57,480
Speaker 1: With all of the unknown around what happened the day

622
00:35:57,520 --> 00:36:00,439
Speaker 1: of the shooting, what we do know for sure, I've

623
00:36:00,480 --> 00:36:05,480
Speaker 1: heard boiled down to two simple points. Tort was killed

624
00:36:05,680 --> 00:36:09,440
Speaker 1: defending the forest, and they died doing what it loved.

625
00:36:12,680 --> 00:36:15,440
Speaker 1: The first event type thing I went to in Atlanta

626
00:36:16,040 --> 00:36:19,920
Speaker 1: was a noise demo outside to Cab County Jail Thursday

627
00:36:19,960 --> 00:36:22,719
Speaker 1: night for the seven people arrested as a part of

628
00:36:22,800 --> 00:36:26,200
Speaker 1: the deadly raid, all seven of whom are now facing

629
00:36:26,280 --> 00:36:31,960
Speaker 1: domestic terrorism charges for being in the forest. The next day, Friday,

630
00:36:32,040 --> 00:36:36,120
Speaker 1: the twentieth, there was a large public vigil in Wallawnee

631
00:36:36,160 --> 00:36:39,400
Speaker 1: People's Park. Last time I was there, it was for

632
00:36:39,600 --> 00:36:42,600
Speaker 1: the Muscogee Creek Summit near the end of last spring.

633
00:36:43,520 --> 00:36:46,320
Speaker 1: It was sunny. I was hanging out in the gazebo

634
00:36:46,640 --> 00:36:51,080
Speaker 1: listening to ecological presentations. There was a large tent kitchen

635
00:36:51,160 --> 00:36:53,360
Speaker 1: in the grass, and I got to sit around a

636
00:36:53,440 --> 00:36:57,480
Speaker 1: table and eat food with people. When I arrived Friday

637
00:36:57,520 --> 00:37:00,440
Speaker 1: evening for the vigil, the first thing I saw was

638
00:37:00,560 --> 00:37:04,560
Speaker 1: the destroyed remains of the gazebo, almost on display by

639
00:37:04,600 --> 00:37:07,960
Speaker 1: the entrance of the torn up parking lot. It was

640
00:37:08,480 --> 00:37:12,400
Speaker 1: such a clear visual indicator for how things have changed

641
00:37:12,560 --> 00:37:16,439
Speaker 1: since the start of last summer. Near the tree line,

642
00:37:16,600 --> 00:37:19,120
Speaker 1: a few hundred people were gathered around a sort of

643
00:37:19,520 --> 00:37:26,120
Speaker 1: outdoor shrine. A few large stone slabs, overturned candles, flowers,

644
00:37:26,680 --> 00:37:32,560
Speaker 1: forest plants, little turtles, pictures, art, cigarettes, and yes fruit

645
00:37:32,640 --> 00:37:38,520
Speaker 1: snacks forming an orange glowing mound. People gathered and shared

646
00:37:38,600 --> 00:37:43,279
Speaker 1: memories of Tortuguita. Many spoke of its kindness and solidarity

647
00:37:43,360 --> 00:37:46,399
Speaker 1: with struggles across the South, from the defense of drag

648
00:37:46,520 --> 00:37:50,520
Speaker 1: shows in Tennessee to mutual aid work in Florida where

649
00:37:50,560 --> 00:37:54,440
Speaker 1: they helped build housing in low income communities hit hardest

650
00:37:54,560 --> 00:37:55,480
Speaker 1: by hurricanes.

651
00:37:56,480 --> 00:38:00,840
Speaker 12: I feel like Tortuguita's compassion was something that really shifted

652
00:38:01,120 --> 00:38:05,160
Speaker 12: the culture in the forest and touched all of the

653
00:38:05,280 --> 00:38:09,840
Speaker 12: lives of the people that they met. They lived what

654
00:38:09,960 --> 00:38:14,120
Speaker 12: they believed, which is something that I hope we can

655
00:38:14,200 --> 00:38:17,920
Speaker 12: all be inspired by. There are so many stories of

656
00:38:18,320 --> 00:38:21,000
Speaker 12: people who were just mentioning to tort like, oh, I'm

657
00:38:21,040 --> 00:38:23,759
Speaker 12: in this situation, or this happened to my friend, and

658
00:38:24,000 --> 00:38:27,080
Speaker 12: they would just immediately be thinking of ways that community

659
00:38:27,120 --> 00:38:29,480
Speaker 12: could help them or that they could help them, and

660
00:38:29,680 --> 00:38:31,560
Speaker 12: someone just shared a story with me that the last

661
00:38:31,600 --> 00:38:35,120
Speaker 12: time that they saw Tort, they were telling them about

662
00:38:35,160 --> 00:38:39,640
Speaker 12: how the unhoused folks in their community were getting their

663
00:38:39,880 --> 00:38:43,920
Speaker 12: tents and sleeping bags like swept and then Tort gave

664
00:38:44,000 --> 00:38:48,000
Speaker 12: them two hundred dollars to replace the sleeping bags and tents.

665
00:38:48,400 --> 00:38:50,279
Speaker 12: And I feel like they were just they had such

666
00:38:50,320 --> 00:38:53,680
Speaker 12: a sense of kinship with people, even people that they

667
00:38:53,760 --> 00:38:58,040
Speaker 12: didn't know, they were so connected to like the ways

668
00:38:58,120 --> 00:39:01,160
Speaker 12: that we are all a part of this web of life,

669
00:39:02,160 --> 00:39:07,160
Speaker 12: and so committed to living in a way that can

670
00:39:07,239 --> 00:39:11,440
Speaker 12: bring us all into a better community with each other,

671
00:39:11,520 --> 00:39:13,920
Speaker 12: whether it be us and our fellow human beings or

672
00:39:14,040 --> 00:39:18,160
Speaker 12: us in our forests. And they loved these woods. And

673
00:39:19,160 --> 00:39:21,200
Speaker 12: I feel like the fact that these woods were where

674
00:39:21,280 --> 00:39:24,359
Speaker 12: they departed from this realm into the next just makes

675
00:39:24,400 --> 00:39:27,120
Speaker 12: it that much more important that we protect them and

676
00:39:27,239 --> 00:39:30,840
Speaker 12: that we make sure that this forest remains intact. I

677
00:39:30,960 --> 00:39:32,640
Speaker 12: know that that's what Tort would have wanted, That's what

678
00:39:32,760 --> 00:39:36,239
Speaker 12: they died doing. And I think that in all of

679
00:39:36,320 --> 00:39:40,440
Speaker 12: the chaos and desperation and devastation that this loss is

680
00:39:40,520 --> 00:39:43,240
Speaker 12: bringing our community, I think that one of the things

681
00:39:43,320 --> 00:39:47,040
Speaker 12: that has been keeping me going is remembering the love

682
00:39:47,160 --> 00:39:50,680
Speaker 12: that tort had for people and for all living beings,

683
00:39:51,000 --> 00:39:55,160
Speaker 12: and just feeling really connected to their compassion, and I

684
00:39:55,320 --> 00:39:57,680
Speaker 12: hope that that's something I know that that's something that

685
00:39:58,239 --> 00:40:00,960
Speaker 12: is touching, has touched all of us, and the ripples

686
00:40:01,000 --> 00:40:03,640
Speaker 12: of it are continuing. The love that Torte brought to

687
00:40:03,760 --> 00:40:06,839
Speaker 12: this world is still here and is continuing to grow.

688
00:40:07,680 --> 00:40:09,560
Speaker 12: So I think that there, I think that they're here

689
00:40:09,640 --> 00:40:11,640
Speaker 12: with us, and I think that they always will be

690
00:40:11,840 --> 00:40:15,680
Speaker 12: because they brought so much joy and goodness and love

691
00:40:16,040 --> 00:40:19,080
Speaker 12: into this world, and not something that never goes away,

692
00:40:19,160 --> 00:40:20,040
Speaker 12: it only grows.

693
00:40:21,560 --> 00:40:23,960
Speaker 1: I've gotten permission from a few of the people that

694
00:40:24,120 --> 00:40:27,279
Speaker 1: spoke that night to share some of their stories of

695
00:40:27,440 --> 00:40:31,000
Speaker 1: Torti Ghita. One of the small things that stuck with

696
00:40:31,120 --> 00:40:34,840
Speaker 1: me was how someone described Torte as possessing a playful,

697
00:40:35,000 --> 00:40:36,040
Speaker 1: rebellious energy.

698
00:40:37,080 --> 00:40:41,000
Speaker 16: But tort and I watched this yugoslav film together called

699
00:40:41,719 --> 00:40:47,919
Speaker 16: My Father the Socialist Pula, which was this joyful Yugoslavian

700
00:40:48,040 --> 00:40:51,160
Speaker 16: film from the eighties about the transition after World War

701
00:40:51,200 --> 00:40:55,480
Speaker 16: Two and Yugoslavia to autonomous self rule and breaking apart

702
00:40:55,560 --> 00:41:04,040
Speaker 16: with the Soviet sphere, and in it uh early on

703
00:41:04,160 --> 00:41:07,920
Speaker 16: in the film they're they're changing their social customs. If

704
00:41:07,960 --> 00:41:12,880
Speaker 16: adopted a new way of greeting each other in Yugoslavia

705
00:41:13,440 --> 00:41:19,800
Speaker 16: where they they say good morning, death the fascism. And

706
00:41:20,000 --> 00:41:24,799
Speaker 16: from that time when I would see Tour, always they

707
00:41:24,840 --> 00:41:35,200
Speaker 16: would that's the fascism, comrade, that's the fascism. And Tour

708
00:41:36,040 --> 00:41:40,000
Speaker 16: when I first met them, Uh invited me to teach

709
00:41:40,440 --> 00:41:45,120
Speaker 16: akito in the forest, which is called it's a martial art,

710
00:41:45,160 --> 00:41:48,600
Speaker 16: that's called the art of peace. And so while we

711
00:41:48,880 --> 00:41:56,160
Speaker 16: train as warriors, we train as peaceful warriors. But as

712
00:41:56,239 --> 00:41:59,279
Speaker 16: many people have said, we for instance, did defenses of

713
00:41:59,360 --> 00:42:03,320
Speaker 16: drag shows Tennessee from assemblies of Nazis and proud boys

714
00:42:03,360 --> 00:42:07,279
Speaker 16: who showed up in body armor with assault rifles. And

715
00:42:10,200 --> 00:42:16,000
Speaker 16: tort was militant, but joyful. Tart took all of the

716
00:42:17,280 --> 00:42:20,120
Speaker 16: always it was. It was with the utmost gravity and

717
00:42:20,239 --> 00:42:21,560
Speaker 16: yet with the utmost lightness.

718
00:42:23,120 --> 00:42:30,000
Speaker 13: And you know, we we we as well, arranged a.

719
00:42:32,040 --> 00:42:39,200
Speaker 16: Weekend of conflict resolution training here where tort rallied and

720
00:42:40,520 --> 00:42:42,800
Speaker 16: was the one that brought you know, a half a

721
00:42:42,880 --> 00:42:48,320
Speaker 16: dozen people. Was always rallying people, brought people to the

722
00:42:48,400 --> 00:42:51,279
Speaker 16: drag defense, brought people to the trainings, brought people to

723
00:42:51,320 --> 00:42:56,000
Speaker 16: my ikido class, maybe brought two dozen different people through

724
00:42:56,400 --> 00:43:00,080
Speaker 16: over the course of several dozen classes. They were a

725
00:43:00,760 --> 00:43:04,799
Speaker 16: peaceful warrior and they were Mike and they got shot dead.

726
00:43:05,560 --> 00:43:08,720
Speaker 16: And I'd like to I'd like to lead a chant

727
00:43:09,040 --> 00:43:16,480
Speaker 16: in that spirit to honor some of towards warrior spirit tonight.

728
00:43:17,520 --> 00:43:18,960
Speaker 13: And I know one that they liked.

729
00:43:20,840 --> 00:43:29,600
Speaker 16: Is ah Auntie Anti Capitalista. And we could start together,

730
00:43:29,760 --> 00:43:36,520
Speaker 16: slow and quiet and build together a powerful voice and

731
00:43:36,680 --> 00:43:48,200
Speaker 16: pierce the night ah Auntie Anti Capitalista, Anti.

732
00:43:47,719 --> 00:43:53,040
Speaker 11: Anti.

733
00:44:38,360 --> 00:44:43,440
Speaker 1: Throughout the night, many songs were sung alongside screams of rage.

734
00:44:44,400 --> 00:44:48,080
Speaker 1: Tortogito actually left a tag with a little red sharpie

735
00:44:48,440 --> 00:44:52,040
Speaker 1: on the guitar being played at the vigil. It's a

736
00:44:52,320 --> 00:44:55,240
Speaker 1: little doodle of a cat face next to the words

737
00:44:55,680 --> 00:45:00,239
Speaker 1: all cats are beautiful. Somebody at the vigil read out

738
00:45:00,280 --> 00:45:02,840
Speaker 1: a few of the messages sent in to the Remember

739
00:45:02,960 --> 00:45:07,120
Speaker 1: Torte at ProtonMail dot com email address, many of which

740
00:45:07,200 --> 00:45:11,760
Speaker 1: you can now find collected at stop cop dot city.

741
00:45:12,239 --> 00:45:14,840
Speaker 1: That's stop cop period city.

742
00:45:16,400 --> 00:45:18,759
Speaker 12: One of the things about tort that was really inspirational

743
00:45:18,920 --> 00:45:21,560
Speaker 12: is that they weren't just against capitalism. They weren't just

744
00:45:21,640 --> 00:45:24,759
Speaker 12: against the police. They made abolition about what they were

745
00:45:24,800 --> 00:45:30,120
Speaker 12: fighting for and on the we Remember tort Proton mail.

746
00:45:30,200 --> 00:45:32,280
Speaker 12: A lot of people have been sending in stories about

747
00:45:32,400 --> 00:45:35,680
Speaker 12: how they contributed so much to each community that they

748
00:45:35,719 --> 00:45:37,960
Speaker 12: were in, and I want to read this one that

749
00:45:38,080 --> 00:45:43,040
Speaker 12: came in from someone in Tallahassee. Everyone in Tallahassee knew Manny.

750
00:45:43,400 --> 00:45:46,200
Speaker 12: I'm not even exaggerating. They were a part of almost

751
00:45:46,280 --> 00:45:48,919
Speaker 12: every single organization they could get their hands on in town.

752
00:45:49,320 --> 00:45:53,480
Speaker 12: Food Not Bombs, the Plant, Live Oak, Radical Ecology, International

753
00:45:53,560 --> 00:45:57,800
Speaker 12: Workers of the World, Tallahassee Community Action Committee, Free Dan Baker,

754
00:45:57,960 --> 00:46:01,879
Speaker 12: Stopping HB one, etc. With every person who was lucky

755
00:46:01,960 --> 00:46:04,320
Speaker 12: enough to be graced with their presence, they felt safe

756
00:46:04,440 --> 00:46:06,719
Speaker 12: and free to do whatever they could for the community.

757
00:46:07,520 --> 00:46:10,040
Speaker 12: They ran a cold night shelter for the homeless practically

758
00:46:10,120 --> 00:46:12,480
Speaker 12: on their own when the Kearney Center couldn't do it.

759
00:46:12,960 --> 00:46:15,359
Speaker 12: They helped do grocery deliveries for those in the south

760
00:46:15,440 --> 00:46:18,000
Speaker 12: side of town for free. They showed up to almost

761
00:46:18,040 --> 00:46:20,800
Speaker 12: every single meal share that F and B hosted. And

762
00:46:20,960 --> 00:46:22,799
Speaker 12: this is only a fraction of the work that they

763
00:46:22,880 --> 00:46:26,800
Speaker 12: did for the Bond community here in Tallahassee and beyond. Manny,

764
00:46:26,920 --> 00:46:29,600
Speaker 12: I always watched you from the periphery with Awe. I

765
00:46:29,680 --> 00:46:32,239
Speaker 12: always wanted to be your close friend. I wish you

766
00:46:32,239 --> 00:46:34,319
Speaker 12: could have seen the vigil that we had. You would

767
00:46:34,360 --> 00:46:34,960
Speaker 12: have been proud.

768
00:46:36,440 --> 00:46:40,479
Speaker 1: The large overturned stone by the flowers, candles and fruit

769
00:46:40,520 --> 00:46:43,719
Speaker 1: snacks at the Wollani vigil had a message written on

770
00:46:43,800 --> 00:46:46,680
Speaker 1: it that I read when I returned to the park a.

771
00:46:46,719 --> 00:46:47,560
Speaker 4: Few days later.

772
00:46:48,560 --> 00:46:53,120
Speaker 1: The big boulder reads erected in memory of all whose

773
00:46:53,320 --> 00:46:57,719
Speaker 1: lives were lived and unjustly lost in Wolani Forest. You

774
00:46:57,880 --> 00:47:00,720
Speaker 1: live on in the trees, and I remembered by the land.

775
00:47:01,440 --> 00:47:04,920
Speaker 1: You will never be forgotten until every prison is empty,

776
00:47:05,160 --> 00:47:08,839
Speaker 1: until every slave is free, until all live without fear,

777
00:47:09,440 --> 00:47:12,399
Speaker 1: until earth has healed. Our work is not done.

778
00:47:13,920 --> 00:47:16,520
Speaker 12: If it's okay, I'll share another of the message that

779
00:47:16,640 --> 00:47:20,520
Speaker 12: is sent. Manny was a close friend, comrade, and above

780
00:47:20,600 --> 00:47:23,680
Speaker 12: all constant fighter for working people. I knew them in

781
00:47:23,760 --> 00:47:27,239
Speaker 12: Tallahassee through the IWW food not bombs and live oak

782
00:47:27,320 --> 00:47:30,160
Speaker 12: radical ecology, and I will never cease to be amazed

783
00:47:30,200 --> 00:47:33,960
Speaker 12: by their tireless activism, their extreme empathy, and their ability

784
00:47:34,000 --> 00:47:37,359
Speaker 12: to make everyone feel welcomed in radical spaces. They died

785
00:47:37,400 --> 00:47:40,120
Speaker 12: as they lived, fighting for a better world and defending

786
00:47:40,200 --> 00:47:42,719
Speaker 12: the forest from destruction in the name of a fascist,

787
00:47:42,960 --> 00:47:46,080
Speaker 12: militarized police force. I hope their name will not be

788
00:47:46,200 --> 00:47:49,400
Speaker 12: forgotten and that their killer is brought to justice. But

789
00:47:49,520 --> 00:47:51,520
Speaker 12: more than anything, I hope the cause that they fought

790
00:47:51,600 --> 00:47:54,759
Speaker 12: for is victorious. Now we mourn this great loss to

791
00:47:54,800 --> 00:47:58,160
Speaker 12: the Tallahassee in Atlantic communities, but tomorrow we will fight

792
00:47:58,280 --> 00:48:01,120
Speaker 12: back twice as hard against cap in the state, so

793
00:48:01,239 --> 00:48:05,839
Speaker 12: that Tortughita did not die in vain. This is another one.

794
00:48:06,880 --> 00:48:13,720
Speaker 12: They were kind and fierce. They were sweet, extraordinarily funny, conscientious, tender, silly,

795
00:48:14,080 --> 00:48:16,920
Speaker 12: loving and one of the most generous people I have met.

796
00:48:17,560 --> 00:48:21,759
Speaker 12: And that contagious smile and laugh three exclamation points. I

797
00:48:21,840 --> 00:48:24,399
Speaker 12: went to bed last night hearing their laughter in my head,

798
00:48:24,880 --> 00:48:28,080
Speaker 12: loud and beautiful. They somehow were still there to add

799
00:48:28,160 --> 00:48:30,840
Speaker 12: levity and joy as I screamed, cried and choked on

800
00:48:30,920 --> 00:48:33,920
Speaker 12: my own spit all night and they killed you. You

801
00:48:34,000 --> 00:48:38,480
Speaker 12: were gone, comrade. I missed you. I miss you. They

802
00:48:38,520 --> 00:48:41,680
Speaker 12: had a deep understanding of solidarity and struggle. When the

803
00:48:41,760 --> 00:48:45,200
Speaker 12: cops swept an encampment in my neighborhood without hesitation, they

804
00:48:45,280 --> 00:48:48,000
Speaker 12: shared their forest funds to get more tents and sleeping bags,

805
00:48:48,320 --> 00:48:50,920
Speaker 12: because they knew that these are not individual battles, but

806
00:48:51,040 --> 00:48:53,560
Speaker 12: that these struggles are inherently tied to one another, that

807
00:48:53,680 --> 00:48:55,840
Speaker 12: they are part of the same struggle. This is a

808
00:48:55,960 --> 00:48:58,919
Speaker 12: lesson for the movement that must be carried forward, for them,

809
00:48:59,040 --> 00:49:01,000
Speaker 12: for all of us, for the strength of the fight

810
00:49:01,080 --> 00:49:03,680
Speaker 12: to stop cop City. I will miss how we greeted

811
00:49:03,719 --> 00:49:05,719
Speaker 12: one another and our meager attempts to make it a

812
00:49:05,840 --> 00:49:08,120
Speaker 12: thing that's a fascism literation.

813
00:49:07,800 --> 00:49:08,440
Speaker 10: To all people.

814
00:49:10,080 --> 00:49:14,319
Speaker 1: One of the people playing the tortighita tagged guitar at

815
00:49:14,360 --> 00:49:18,879
Speaker 1: the vigil played a version of Bella Chow and I'm

816
00:49:18,960 --> 00:49:22,080
Speaker 1: just going to read out the way that they described

817
00:49:22,200 --> 00:49:28,239
Speaker 1: the song. Bella Chow means goodbye beautiful in Italian. The

818
00:49:28,400 --> 00:49:31,839
Speaker 1: song was originally about an Italian partisan who goes out

819
00:49:31,920 --> 00:49:35,040
Speaker 1: to fight the fascists in the mountains during World War Two.

820
00:49:35,880 --> 00:49:39,279
Speaker 1: And I like to dedicate this version to somebody who

821
00:49:39,400 --> 00:49:43,080
Speaker 1: laid their life down to fight against fascism, militarism, and

822
00:49:43,200 --> 00:49:46,440
Speaker 1: against the expansion of the police and against the destruction

823
00:49:46,600 --> 00:49:50,320
Speaker 1: of nature. Somebody who lifted up all of the people

824
00:49:50,600 --> 00:49:53,880
Speaker 1: they were around, knew so many people, was involved in

825
00:49:53,960 --> 00:49:58,280
Speaker 1: so many communities and was just so funny, so loving,

826
00:49:58,600 --> 00:50:02,839
Speaker 1: so friendly, and they laid their life down for their

827
00:50:02,880 --> 00:50:06,960
Speaker 1: community and to stop copsity and to stop militarism and

828
00:50:07,080 --> 00:50:10,440
Speaker 1: the destruction of nature. They really believed in what they

829
00:50:10,480 --> 00:50:13,719
Speaker 1: were doing, and the way we can honor them is

830
00:50:13,840 --> 00:50:18,560
Speaker 1: by continuing their fight death to fascism. See you on

831
00:50:18,680 --> 00:50:19,400
Speaker 1: the other side.

832
00:50:20,480 --> 00:50:22,080
Speaker 4: The world is waking.

833
00:50:23,400 --> 00:50:29,720
Speaker 10: Outside my window, bella chow bela chow bela chow chow

834
00:50:30,000 --> 00:50:31,200
Speaker 10: chow drags.

835
00:50:30,960 --> 00:50:36,320
Speaker 13: My senses into the sunlight. For there are things that

836
00:50:36,960 --> 00:50:42,279
Speaker 13: I must do. Wish me luck. Now I have to

837
00:50:42,520 --> 00:50:42,920
Speaker 13: leave you.

838
00:50:44,239 --> 00:50:49,680
Speaker 10: Bella chow bela chow, bela chow chow chow with my friends.

839
00:50:49,800 --> 00:50:55,600
Speaker 11: Now in the forest, We're gonna shake the gates of

840
00:50:56,040 --> 00:50:57,560
Speaker 11: hell and.

841
00:50:57,719 --> 00:50:58,799
Speaker 13: We will tell them.

842
00:50:59,640 --> 00:51:05,800
Speaker 11: You will tell them you bella chow, bella chow, bella chout, shout,

843
00:51:06,000 --> 00:51:11,040
Speaker 11: show that we lannis not for the franchise in which

844
00:51:11,160 --> 00:51:13,880
Speaker 11: the bastards dropped down dead.

845
00:51:14,920 --> 00:51:18,400
Speaker 13: Next time you see me, I may be smiling.

846
00:51:19,360 --> 00:51:24,120
Speaker 11: Obella show, bella chow, bella shout, show shall I'll be

847
00:51:24,360 --> 00:51:27,080
Speaker 11: in prison or on the TV.

848
00:51:28,120 --> 00:51:40,520
Speaker 13: I'll say the forest called me. The world is waken.

849
00:51:41,320 --> 00:51:45,719
Speaker 11: I sign my window, bella chow bella chow, bella chow

850
00:51:45,920 --> 00:51:50,920
Speaker 11: chow chow. Try my senses into the sunlight. Further things

851
00:51:51,040 --> 00:51:55,239
Speaker 11: that I must do, wish me luck. Now I have

852
00:51:55,440 --> 00:51:59,680
Speaker 11: to leave you obella chow bella chow, bella chow chow

853
00:51:59,800 --> 00:52:03,560
Speaker 11: cho Oh, and my friends that in the forest we're

854
00:52:03,680 --> 00:52:08,640
Speaker 11: gonna shake the gates of hell. And we will tell him, Yeah,

855
00:52:08,680 --> 00:52:12,320
Speaker 11: we will tell him a bella chow bellow chow, bella

856
00:52:12,520 --> 00:52:16,400
Speaker 11: chow chow chow, that we lollies not far the franchise

857
00:52:16,960 --> 00:52:18,919
Speaker 11: which the bastards dropped down.

858
00:52:19,080 --> 00:52:22,840
Speaker 13: The next time you see me, I may be smiling.

859
00:52:23,640 --> 00:52:27,760
Speaker 11: Bella chow bella chower, bella chow chow, shall be in prison.

860
00:52:28,400 --> 00:52:32,560
Speaker 17: We're on the TV. I'll say, the forest call me here.

861
00:52:57,920 --> 00:53:01,680
Speaker 17: The world is wakened. I simon a bella.

862
00:53:01,480 --> 00:53:04,920
Speaker 11: Child, bella chow, bella chow chow chow. Dry my sasses

863
00:53:05,360 --> 00:53:09,040
Speaker 11: into the sunlight for their things said, I must.

864
00:53:08,880 --> 00:53:10,319
Speaker 13: Do almost mean.

865
00:53:10,440 --> 00:53:14,319
Speaker 11: Look, well, I gotta leave you a bella chow, bella chow,

866
00:53:14,440 --> 00:53:15,960
Speaker 11: bella chow chow chow.

867
00:53:15,880 --> 00:53:19,600
Speaker 13: With my friends. Now in the forest, we're gonna shake

868
00:53:19,760 --> 00:53:24,600
Speaker 13: the gates off Hell, and we will tell him. We

869
00:53:24,760 --> 00:53:25,760
Speaker 13: will tell him.

870
00:53:26,800 --> 00:53:31,640
Speaker 10: Bella chow bella chow bella chow chow chowd that wee

871
00:53:31,840 --> 00:53:38,279
Speaker 10: Lannis not for the franchise and which the bastards dropped dun.

872
00:53:40,080 --> 00:53:44,280
Speaker 13: Next time you see me, I might be smiling.

873
00:53:45,160 --> 00:53:49,239
Speaker 10: Bella chow bella chow bella chow chow chow.

874
00:53:49,360 --> 00:53:54,080
Speaker 13: I'll be in prison or on the TV. I'll say

875
00:53:54,200 --> 00:54:01,120
Speaker 13: the Forest called me. Next time you see me, I maybe.

876
00:54:01,000 --> 00:54:06,960
Speaker 11: Smiling bella chow bella choo, bella choo choo chow. I'll

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Speaker 11: be in prison or on the TV, I'll say the

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Speaker 11: Forest call me.

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Speaker 1: Here music by The Narcissist Cookbook and Propaganda. It Could

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Speaker 1: Happen Here as a production of cool Zone Media.

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Speaker 9: For more podcasts from cool Zone Media, visit our website

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Speaker 9: Coolzonemedia dot com, or check us out on the iHeartRadio app,

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00:54:29,840 --> 00:54:33,200
Speaker 9: Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen to podcasts. You can

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Speaker 9: find sources for It Could Happen Here, updated monthly at

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Speaker 9: Coolzonmedia dot com slash sources.

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Speaker 8: Thanks for listening.