WEBVTT - Crackdown on Stop Cop City 0:00:01.720 --> 0:00:08.440 Cool zone media, get ready for anarchy in Atlanta. 0:00:09.039 --> 0:00:12.879 Visit you got me first, or you won't be a 0:00:12.960 --> 0:00:17.080 rend anarchist start work. They struck again this week. 0:00:19.280 --> 0:00:25.840 Cops are approaching now obviously. 0:00:25.600 --> 0:00:28.680 Got a flashbuyn there. This is it could Happen Here. 0:00:28.800 --> 0:00:33.120 I'm Garrison Davis. For the past three years, a wide 0:00:33.200 --> 0:00:35.760 range of people in Atlanta, Georgia have been working to 0:00:35.760 --> 0:00:38.440 prevent the construction of a now one hundred and ten 0:00:38.520 --> 0:00:42.520 million dollar militarized police training facility in the South River 0:00:42.600 --> 0:00:47.400 Forest in southeast Atlanta. I've continuously covered the evolving struggle 0:00:47.400 --> 0:00:49.640 on it Could Happen Here for the past few years. 0:00:49.680 --> 0:00:49.880 Now. 0:00:50.640 --> 0:00:53.239 In this episode, I will attempt to summarize some of 0:00:53.280 --> 0:00:56.240 the actions from the past six months and the wave 0:00:56.320 --> 0:01:00.000 of recent repression targeted against the movement. I will also 0:01:00.000 --> 0:01:02.760 so who offers some analysis and critique on behalf of 0:01:02.800 --> 0:01:06.680 anonymous Force Defenders who spoke with me in dedicated conversations. 0:01:07.720 --> 0:01:10.080 After the last week of action in summer of twenty 0:01:10.120 --> 0:01:13.160 twenty three, it was clear the movement needed a new 0:01:13.200 --> 0:01:16.039 way of people to engage in the struggle against Cop City, 0:01:16.360 --> 0:01:20.839 beyond the referendum and the occasional night time sabotage. Forest 0:01:20.880 --> 0:01:25.080 encampments were essentially impossible, and the weeks of action seemed 0:01:25.120 --> 0:01:29.880 to expunge their usefulness. A small group of people began 0:01:30.080 --> 0:01:34.520 organizing what would become known as block cop City. The 0:01:34.600 --> 0:01:38.440 idea was that on Monday, November thirteenth, a mass mobilization 0:01:38.480 --> 0:01:41.400 would descend upon the cop City construction site in an 0:01:41.440 --> 0:01:46.039 act of non violent protest, and perhaps plant tree saplings 0:01:46.240 --> 0:01:50.400 where the forest once stood. This marks the first time 0:01:50.560 --> 0:01:54.640 that the framing of quote unquote strategic nonviolence and nonviolent 0:01:54.680 --> 0:01:57.800 direct action were embraced for a mass action like this, 0:01:58.360 --> 0:02:01.400 hoping that it may attract NGOs and activist groups to 0:02:01.640 --> 0:02:06.440 co sign onto the action. Historically, throughout this struggle, such 0:02:06.520 --> 0:02:10.720 quote unquote nonviolent framing was at least avoided, if not 0:02:10.840 --> 0:02:15.320 explicitly rejected, as a limiting restriction toward achieving measurable victories 0:02:15.400 --> 0:02:20.639 against the Atlanta Police Foundation and Cop City contractors. Throughout 0:02:20.639 --> 0:02:22.760 the end of summer and the start of fall, a 0:02:22.800 --> 0:02:25.760 speaking tour for Block cup City traveled to over eighty 0:02:25.800 --> 0:02:28.640 cities around the country to promote the action and recruit 0:02:28.680 --> 0:02:32.440 people to travel to Atlanta come November. Block cup City 0:02:32.440 --> 0:02:36.280 started as a very vertical top down plan the central 0:02:36.320 --> 0:02:39.440 Conceit was decided upon by a small number of individuals, 0:02:39.520 --> 0:02:42.080 many of whom were not from Atlanta, and the finer 0:02:42.120 --> 0:02:44.280 details would be worked out in a series of public 0:02:44.320 --> 0:02:47.960 meetings in the days before the action. Whether or not 0:02:48.120 --> 0:02:52.240 local force defenders liked or disliked the proposal, block up 0:02:52.280 --> 0:02:55.200 City acted as a gravity well, sucking nearly all of 0:02:55.240 --> 0:02:58.560 the energy, time, and attention into its orbit for the 0:02:58.720 --> 0:03:02.880 entirety of a fall in Atlanta throughout the nationwide block 0:03:02.880 --> 0:03:05.880 cop City. Speaking to her, a small subset of attendees 0:03:06.000 --> 0:03:09.799 voiced objections and disagreements with the proposed strategy and its 0:03:09.919 --> 0:03:13.480 use of time and resources. Those opposed to block cop 0:03:13.520 --> 0:03:16.400 City thought the idea of a large public march to 0:03:16.440 --> 0:03:20.120 the worksite was going to put people in unnecessary harm 0:03:20.160 --> 0:03:23.760 without doing much to achieve a measurable blow against cop City. 0:03:24.400 --> 0:03:26.040 I'm going to quote from a report back that was 0:03:26.080 --> 0:03:30.480 published online shortly after the action. Quote. Something that tends 0:03:30.520 --> 0:03:32.920 to happen in autonomous action is that there ends up 0:03:32.960 --> 0:03:35.600 being an inner circle at the core, which can limit 0:03:35.640 --> 0:03:38.040 the scope of who is able to meaningfully contribute to 0:03:38.080 --> 0:03:40.600 the direction of an action, because it creates a hierarchy 0:03:41.000 --> 0:03:43.640 at Spokes Council. It felt like this at times because 0:03:43.760 --> 0:03:46.280 it was primarily a small group of speakers who were 0:03:46.320 --> 0:03:50.360 directing the entire Block cop City movement. This led to 0:03:50.480 --> 0:03:53.480 dismissal of certain concerns which were brought up by affinity 0:03:53.520 --> 0:03:57.880 groups unquote. In the planning stages, organizers pushed back on 0:03:57.920 --> 0:04:01.000 the notion that getting arrested was part of the plan, 0:04:01.680 --> 0:04:04.960 but on the day before the November thirteenth action, a 0:04:05.000 --> 0:04:07.760 Block Up City organizer told press and media in a 0:04:07.800 --> 0:04:10.920 private meeting to have your cameras ready because there will 0:04:10.960 --> 0:04:14.800 be arrests at noon, demonstrating some form of intent to 0:04:14.920 --> 0:04:17.120 use people's safety and freedom as a way to generate 0:04:17.200 --> 0:04:20.640 online buzz with the hope of inspiring people to once 0:04:20.680 --> 0:04:24.760 again take action in the forest. The possibility of arrest 0:04:24.880 --> 0:04:28.279 was obviously mentioned at the spokes Council meetings, but was 0:04:28.360 --> 0:04:32.680 framed as far from a certainty, with rallying cries insisting 0:04:32.960 --> 0:04:35.520 that the march will be able to all leave together. 0:04:36.960 --> 0:04:40.239 During the two days of Spokes Council meetings, the route 0:04:40.360 --> 0:04:42.880 and formation of the march to the construction site was 0:04:42.920 --> 0:04:47.159 decided upon, and quote unquote, direct action trainings took place 0:04:47.160 --> 0:04:50.920 to prepare people for the march on Monday morning. The 0:04:50.920 --> 0:04:55.240 march was to be split into three distinct clusters, a frontline, middle, 0:04:55.279 --> 0:04:59.800 and rear. Before the march, there was limited communication between clusters, 0:05:00.160 --> 0:05:03.440 making it difficult to have informed expectations of how a 0:05:03.440 --> 0:05:07.159 confrontation with police will happen. Part of the quote unquote 0:05:07.200 --> 0:05:12.520 strategic nonviolence stipulation meant that throne objects and projectiles were 0:05:12.600 --> 0:05:17.479 explicitly disallowed. On the morning of the march, words started 0:05:17.520 --> 0:05:20.640 to spread around that what was left of the frontline 0:05:20.680 --> 0:05:25.719 cluster decided that only bullets will make the frontline fall back, 0:05:25.839 --> 0:05:29.280 and that they would withstand all other forms of police violence, 0:05:29.839 --> 0:05:34.800 mostly les, lethal rounds, tear gas, batons, etc. Now, this 0:05:34.920 --> 0:05:38.960 whole thing about live rounds was not widely communicated to 0:05:39.000 --> 0:05:41.640 people who just showed up for the action. On Monday morning, 0:05:42.360 --> 0:05:45.320 during the spokes councils, it was learned that a vast 0:05:45.360 --> 0:05:48.640 majority of attendees had never before been to Atlanta or 0:05:48.680 --> 0:05:51.479 the forest, and a great many of whom had never 0:05:51.520 --> 0:05:54.600 attended a protest or engaged in a clash with police before. 0:05:55.640 --> 0:05:59.479 Some local force defenders took issue with the perceived strategy 0:05:59.520 --> 0:06:03.240 of primiery recruiting young people from across the country with 0:06:03.520 --> 0:06:07.680 little to no experience going up against police. Come Monday morning, 0:06:08.160 --> 0:06:10.640 the number of people gathered to march on cop City 0:06:11.040 --> 0:06:15.120 was far fewer than what was initially hoped. It's impossible 0:06:15.160 --> 0:06:18.919 to say for sure whether the limiting of acceptable tactics 0:06:18.960 --> 0:06:22.479 and the non violent framing hurt or helped the final 0:06:22.600 --> 0:06:26.680 number of attendees. Regardless, the four hundred or so brave 0:06:26.720 --> 0:06:30.239 people that departed Gresham Park was not the mass action 0:06:30.400 --> 0:06:32.360 initially envisioned by organizers. 0:06:33.160 --> 0:06:38.479 Got about three dozen riot cops and SWAT teams stationed here, 0:06:38.600 --> 0:06:45.280 blocking off the road heading to the west. Got police shields, 0:06:45.279 --> 0:06:49.279 We have air of fifteen's, We have tactical response vehicles ATV, 0:06:51.240 --> 0:06:53.040 A lot of cops behind us, a lot of cops 0:06:53.040 --> 0:06:57.560 in front of us. We are completely sandwiched in by 0:06:57.560 --> 0:06:57.880 the police. 0:06:57.920 --> 0:07:01.239 Right now, the front liners approach the police riot line 0:07:01.400 --> 0:07:05.400 at the big intersection near the entrance to Entrenchment Creek Park. 0:07:05.839 --> 0:07:09.400 Two large banners formed a V shaped wedge and the 0:07:09.440 --> 0:07:11.520 crowd advanced into the police line. 0:07:12.160 --> 0:07:15.200 People are pushing through, Cops are putting out the fight. 0:07:16.880 --> 0:07:20.760 People are continuing to move forward. The march is pushing 0:07:20.760 --> 0:07:24.360 the cops back. Under the pressure from a few hundred people, 0:07:24.920 --> 0:07:26.920 The police line was pushed back by one or two 0:07:26.960 --> 0:07:31.000 dozen feet front liners. We stood, police batons and leslie communitions. 0:07:31.320 --> 0:07:35.240 Steady progress was being made. That was until tear gas 0:07:35.240 --> 0:07:39.240 got deployed. Cops are continuing to loop back, flash bang, 0:07:41.440 --> 0:07:44.960 we got a gap. Cs Gas was first launched into 0:07:45.000 --> 0:07:48.000 the middle of the crowd. Police paused to put on 0:07:48.240 --> 0:07:51.440 their own gas masks, but instead of using this moment 0:07:51.480 --> 0:07:54.920 to advance further, the bulk of the crowd held their position, 0:07:55.400 --> 0:07:59.440 with large sections of the middle cluster subsequently entering into 0:07:59.440 --> 0:08:03.360 the tree line of Entrenchment Creek Park as continuing volleys 0:08:03.360 --> 0:08:06.840 of tear gas were fired by police. This caused the 0:08:06.880 --> 0:08:10.400 front line to retreat back, effectively ending the offensive portion 0:08:10.560 --> 0:08:12.920 of the action. As the group that entered into the 0:08:12.960 --> 0:08:17.040 forest was later escorted out by police, rejoined the march 0:08:17.160 --> 0:08:21.520 and eventually returned to Gresham Park. Everyone knew that it 0:08:21.560 --> 0:08:25.720 was a near certainty that police would confront a mobile crowd, 0:08:26.280 --> 0:08:29.360 and out maneuvering police all the way to the construction 0:08:29.480 --> 0:08:33.760 site would be highly unlikely. The only way a mass 0:08:33.760 --> 0:08:35.600 of people would be able to get to the work 0:08:35.640 --> 0:08:38.959 site is if police allowed it. Still, there's much to 0:08:39.080 --> 0:08:41.559 learn from Block cop City, and even just the brief 0:08:41.559 --> 0:08:44.720 skirmish with police. So forgive me for engaging in some 0:08:44.960 --> 0:08:48.160 tactical analysis based on the good portion of my life 0:08:48.200 --> 0:08:51.800 spent in riot jousts and input from others with more 0:08:51.880 --> 0:08:55.080 on the ground experience. We first have to think about 0:08:55.520 --> 0:08:58.400 what will cause a mass of people to break up, scatter, 0:08:58.440 --> 0:09:01.080 and retreat. Both on the protester side and on the 0:09:01.080 --> 0:09:06.600 police side. The front lines are meant to act semi fluid. Typically, 0:09:06.600 --> 0:09:09.800 projectile launchers are behind the front line and are designed 0:09:09.800 --> 0:09:13.400 to scatter the opposing front line and middle sections of 0:09:13.720 --> 0:09:17.160 the enemy side to disrupt an offensive formation so that 0:09:17.240 --> 0:09:20.920 it loses its capacity for for momentum, or to stagger 0:09:20.960 --> 0:09:24.800 a defensive line enough to force retreat, as was the 0:09:24.840 --> 0:09:28.760 case on November thirteenth. When a layered defensive police line 0:09:28.800 --> 0:09:32.080 is backed up with vehicles like a bearcat, the on 0:09:32.240 --> 0:09:38.320 foot line will most likely not retreat back behind their vehicles. Frustratingly, 0:09:38.520 --> 0:09:42.720 these massive police vehicles occupy a sort of paradoxical role 0:09:43.200 --> 0:09:46.280 as a ten ton roadblock that would force a center 0:09:46.320 --> 0:09:49.560 advancing line to break apart in order to pass, putting 0:09:49.600 --> 0:09:53.440 the advancing line in a less strategic position, even though 0:09:53.480 --> 0:09:56.840 if the vehicle was threatened by being overrun, police would 0:09:56.880 --> 0:10:00.400 probably attempt to pull the vehicle back, signifying retreat. So 0:10:00.800 --> 0:10:04.680 how has this paradox been solved before? Well with ranged 0:10:04.679 --> 0:10:08.080 attacks like bottles, fireworks and what the State of Ukraine 0:10:08.559 --> 0:10:11.319 was teaching its civilians to make in the early days 0:10:11.320 --> 0:10:14.920 of the Russian invasion. This is why projectiles are of 0:10:15.000 --> 0:10:19.720 such a strategic importance. One cannot break through a police 0:10:19.760 --> 0:10:24.240 line without employing violence. Utilizing projectiles is necessary to force 0:10:24.320 --> 0:10:27.559 rear police vehicles to retreat, along with the CoP's own 0:10:27.640 --> 0:10:31.079 projectile launchers placed behind their riot line, which are used 0:10:31.080 --> 0:10:34.240 to break up the opposing front line, and police have 0:10:34.520 --> 0:10:39.560 no such tactical non violence scruples against using projectiles. Some 0:10:39.720 --> 0:10:43.840 Atlanta anarchists have also noted that the resources put towards 0:10:43.960 --> 0:10:46.960 acquiring a great number of plants that ended up just 0:10:47.200 --> 0:10:50.280 being abandoned could also have been used to acquire gas 0:10:50.320 --> 0:10:54.720 masks for the middle cluster, reinforced shields, and ancillary materials 0:10:54.720 --> 0:10:58.000 put towards prioritizing the crowd's efficacy and safety against the 0:10:58.120 --> 0:11:02.800 use of crowd controlled munitions. Thankfully there were no arrests 0:11:02.880 --> 0:11:06.120 made in direct connection to the march, but I don't 0:11:06.160 --> 0:11:10.400 believe this can be accredited to any comprehensive organizing. When 0:11:10.440 --> 0:11:13.520 the day prior, media was told that arrests would be 0:11:13.559 --> 0:11:17.800 taking place by lunchtime, for whatever reason, the police let 0:11:17.840 --> 0:11:20.880 a kettled crowd of people go free. We can only 0:11:20.880 --> 0:11:24.560 speculate on why, between the logistical hassles, the stretching of 0:11:24.600 --> 0:11:28.319 prosecutor resources, and the bomb squad that was actively sweeping 0:11:28.320 --> 0:11:31.000 the area of Entrenchment Creek Park and checking all of 0:11:31.000 --> 0:11:33.360 the bags and backpacks that were dropped in the area 0:11:33.760 --> 0:11:38.160 where the splinter of the march was escorted out by police. 0:11:38.240 --> 0:11:41.200 When talking with Force defenders in Atlanta who've spent years 0:11:41.240 --> 0:11:45.000 now engaging in militant struggle against police, they offered a 0:11:45.000 --> 0:11:49.480 more fundamental critique of this action. If the choice to 0:11:49.640 --> 0:11:53.360 employ a strategy of nonviolence is in response to grossly 0:11:53.360 --> 0:11:56.640 inflated charges and repression the movement is facing, as some 0:11:56.760 --> 0:11:59.839 block op City organizers have stated, that means that you're 0:11:59.840 --> 0:12:02.960 a allowing the state to determine your rules of engagement. 0:12:04.040 --> 0:12:07.160 The entire idea of announcing your plan to walk onto 0:12:07.320 --> 0:12:10.320 one of the most policed areas in the country, did 0:12:10.360 --> 0:12:13.120 in fact prevent people with more on the ground experience 0:12:13.160 --> 0:12:17.600 from participating On the day of the action. Risk requires reward. 0:12:18.440 --> 0:12:21.520 A small core of organizers were so steadfast in one 0:12:21.520 --> 0:12:25.880 particular version of how this event would take shape, branding 0:12:25.920 --> 0:12:30.600 people with disagreements as all overly online disaffected nihilists no 0:12:30.720 --> 0:12:34.400 longer involved in the struggle in Atlanta. Not only were 0:12:34.559 --> 0:12:38.880 online critiques discarded, but opportunities for in person conversations and 0:12:38.920 --> 0:12:41.240 input from people with more on the ground experience in 0:12:41.280 --> 0:12:44.719 Atlanta were also turned down. And I think it is 0:12:44.800 --> 0:12:47.880 important to state hats off to the many young people 0:12:47.920 --> 0:12:50.960 that traveled from around the country to participate in this action. 0:12:51.559 --> 0:12:54.200 One can hope that block cop City broadly and going 0:12:54.280 --> 0:12:57.360 up against this line of armed riot police was a 0:12:57.679 --> 0:13:01.880 useful learning experience for whatever happens next in these people's 0:13:01.920 --> 0:13:05.080 lives as we approach the twenty twenty four election and 0:13:05.360 --> 0:13:19.720 who knows what is to come. The night after Block 0:13:19.800 --> 0:13:24.000 Cop City, six vehicles owned by the company Ernst Concrete 0:13:24.200 --> 0:13:28.480 were set on fire in Gwinnett County, Georgia. Earlier that fall, 0:13:28.880 --> 0:13:32.319 Ernst Concrete trucks were seen working on the cop City 0:13:32.320 --> 0:13:36.400 construction site. After the arson, Ernst Concrete released a statement 0:13:36.480 --> 0:13:38.280 saying that they were not going to work on the 0:13:38.400 --> 0:13:42.440 cop City project. In an Atlanta Police Department press conference 0:13:42.480 --> 0:13:46.520 from December twenty twenty three, Chief Darren Sheerbaum discussed a 0:13:46.520 --> 0:13:49.000 wave of recent arsons Gonda. 0:13:49.080 --> 0:13:52.640 The most recent one happened in Gwinnette County this past November. 0:13:53.080 --> 0:13:56.280 This was Ernst Concrete when a number of construction equipment 0:13:56.320 --> 0:13:59.199 was set on fire. Then we go to three arsons 0:13:59.240 --> 0:14:02.480 that happened right here in Atlanta mcdonna Boulevard where a contractor, 0:14:02.679 --> 0:14:05.320 Brent Scarborough, was targeted three different times in the month 0:14:05.320 --> 0:14:09.000 of October of this year, July of this year, as 0:14:09.000 --> 0:14:11.400 well as April this year. We see that the same 0:14:11.400 --> 0:14:14.319 group takes credit each and every time on their source 0:14:14.360 --> 0:14:17.040 of giving information out and so it is likely to 0:14:17.080 --> 0:14:19.920 be that same group, very small in number, moving from. 0:14:19.800 --> 0:14:23.040 State to state. Is likely the profile of these individuals. 0:14:23.080 --> 0:14:24.040 It's very very small. 0:14:24.120 --> 0:14:26.520 It is a handful of individuals that are having a 0:14:26.560 --> 0:14:28.680 much larger impact on the safety of the city than 0:14:28.680 --> 0:14:29.160 they should have. 0:14:29.680 --> 0:14:33.160 Atlanta Fire Chief Roderick Smith and John King, the Georgia 0:14:33.240 --> 0:14:36.760 Insurance and Fire Safety Commissioner. Both talked about how these 0:14:36.880 --> 0:14:41.200 arsons negatively affect the contractors working to build cop city. 0:14:42.080 --> 0:14:46.720 As we talk about impacts caused by arson, it affects 0:14:46.720 --> 0:14:51.040 our businesses, those that are participating in helping out building 0:14:51.120 --> 0:14:55.640 the Atlanta Public Safety Training Center. We suffer from additional 0:14:55.760 --> 0:15:00.000 cost due to arson that these companies face. An individual 0:15:00.040 --> 0:15:00.920 Jeel's faith. 0:15:01.840 --> 0:15:04.800 This affects every one of our citizens in the area because 0:15:04.840 --> 0:15:07.720 all these losses. Yes, there's an insurance company that will 0:15:07.760 --> 0:15:11.040 probably cover some of the costs, but those losses will 0:15:11.080 --> 0:15:14.280 be passed on to customers, so we all will take 0:15:14.320 --> 0:15:14.920 the losses. 0:15:15.280 --> 0:15:18.840 On January seventeenth, APD put out another press conference to 0:15:18.840 --> 0:15:21.640 discuss even though the police are already doing such a 0:15:21.640 --> 0:15:25.640 great job outstopping crime when it's fourteen degrees and homicides 0:15:25.680 --> 0:15:28.960 continue to decline, even still, a new state of the 0:15:29.080 --> 0:15:32.360 art police training facility is vital to maintain safety in 0:15:32.400 --> 0:15:33.400 the city of Atlanta. 0:15:33.840 --> 0:15:36.640 We've asked you to come together again today because there 0:15:36.720 --> 0:15:39.400 is an effort underway by very small groups of individuals 0:15:39.440 --> 0:15:43.160 anarchists that want to impact the safety of Atlanta, Georgia. 0:15:43.600 --> 0:15:45.400 Just yesterday, piece. 0:15:45.200 --> 0:15:48.520 Of equipment aligned with one of the construction companies that 0:15:48.560 --> 0:15:50.840 is building the public safety training center for every Atlantin 0:15:51.640 --> 0:15:55.000 set on fire. Next door in a neighboring state of 0:15:55.120 --> 0:15:58.440 South Carolina, we had a construction company that had a 0:15:58.440 --> 0:16:01.400 loose connection to the project here that was targeted by 0:16:01.400 --> 0:16:04.640 an individual that used one of the tools of violence 0:16:04.640 --> 0:16:07.200 sphere and intimidation that has been used mainly by this group, 0:16:07.200 --> 0:16:11.640 which is arson, set equipment on fire, going after concrete trucks, 0:16:12.200 --> 0:16:14.720 and so soon the individuals that have been in the 0:16:14.800 --> 0:16:17.480 dark of night, impacting everyone of our neighborhoods will be 0:16:17.520 --> 0:16:21.479 held responsible as we bring these individuals to justice. 0:16:21.960 --> 0:16:24.720 Police in South Carolina were able to identify a suspect 0:16:24.800 --> 0:16:28.200 and ended up arresting and charging them with arson. The 0:16:28.200 --> 0:16:32.880 fire chief elaborated on the theoretical risks of arson, such 0:16:32.920 --> 0:16:36.280 as injury to human life and the ugly sight of 0:16:36.400 --> 0:16:40.160 burnt rubble left over in neighborhoods, as well as reiterating 0:16:40.360 --> 0:16:42.480 how it affects the cop City project. 0:16:43.160 --> 0:16:46.240 What are the effects of arson financial? 0:16:46.480 --> 0:16:50.160 As we've heard earlier, the impact that the equipment being 0:16:50.240 --> 0:16:55.440 burned plays of role with the company's working delays in 0:16:55.520 --> 0:16:56.680 the project due. 0:16:56.560 --> 0:16:59.640 To this, less than a week later, the city had 0:16:59.680 --> 0:17:02.560 a other press conference in front of burnt husks of 0:17:02.600 --> 0:17:07.000 equipment outside a construction site run by a Cop City contractor. 0:17:07.440 --> 0:17:09.399 If you look over my shoulder, you will see the 0:17:09.400 --> 0:17:11.040 equipment that was burned. 0:17:11.080 --> 0:17:13.520 It belongs to a private contractor. 0:17:13.920 --> 0:17:17.119 There were total four pieces of heavy construction equipment that 0:17:17.160 --> 0:17:18.160 were damaged this morning. 0:17:18.640 --> 0:17:21.960 Chief Scheerbomb quickly linked the attack to stop coop City 0:17:22.600 --> 0:17:26.520 due to a post online about the attack accompanied by 0:17:26.560 --> 0:17:28.600 the hashtag stop cop City. 0:17:29.080 --> 0:17:30.800 The hashtag is present. 0:17:31.160 --> 0:17:33.960 Scherbomb also gave an updated account on the number of 0:17:34.080 --> 0:17:36.840 arson attacks which have targeted construction equipment. 0:17:37.400 --> 0:17:39.639 I believe now we're right at thirty four that have 0:17:39.680 --> 0:17:42.320 occurred here in the state of Georgia and elsewhere. The 0:17:42.400 --> 0:17:45.399 vast majority of them are concentrated in North Georgia, but 0:17:45.440 --> 0:17:48.280 there are others that have occurred elsewhere. We're very fortunate 0:17:48.359 --> 0:17:51.320 of an arrest in South Carolina. There's clearly at least 0:17:51.359 --> 0:17:54.520 one other person. This individual or individuals don't care about 0:17:54.520 --> 0:17:57.720 life and safety. If they fire bombed police precincts. Their 0:17:57.760 --> 0:18:01.359 go is to a road, proper public safety infrastructure, and 0:18:01.400 --> 0:18:02.240 to row the government. 0:18:03.040 --> 0:18:06.920 Very cool stuff. Indeed, I do believe that thirty four 0:18:07.040 --> 0:18:10.200 number is a gross undercount, but hey, if they've forgotten 0:18:10.200 --> 0:18:15.280 a few attacks, really no real harm in that. We have, however, 0:18:15.359 --> 0:18:19.240 gotten a few recent numbers on the monetary damages caused 0:18:19.320 --> 0:18:23.040 by stop cop city activity. In a Georgia State Senate 0:18:23.040 --> 0:18:26.439 committee meeting near the end of January, State Senator Debra 0:18:26.640 --> 0:18:31.680 Silcox said that APD Chief Administrative Officer Peter Amman told 0:18:31.720 --> 0:18:35.840 her earlier that day that the estimated cost of nationwide 0:18:35.960 --> 0:18:39.920 property damage made in protest of cop City exceeds one 0:18:40.000 --> 0:18:45.840 hundred million dollars. That beats the ELF numbers. Now four 0:18:45.920 --> 0:18:49.679 days later, the Atlanta Police Department tried to backtrack that 0:18:49.800 --> 0:18:53.399 number to New York Times reporter Sean Keenan, now saying 0:18:53.480 --> 0:18:57.119 that it was ten million dollars in property damage, a 0:18:57.160 --> 0:19:00.679 one thousand percent difference, which either way is a massive 0:19:00.720 --> 0:19:03.480 amount of money. And we do know for sure that 0:19:03.520 --> 0:19:06.040 the city has spent at least one point three million 0:19:06.080 --> 0:19:09.719 dollars just in the legal fees related to cop City. 0:19:10.520 --> 0:19:12.280 We know at least some of that one point three 0:19:12.280 --> 0:19:16.840 million dollars was used to combat the cop City referendum campaign, 0:19:17.280 --> 0:19:20.760 an initiative started last summer to collect petition signatures to 0:19:20.880 --> 0:19:24.720 put cop city on an upcoming ballot. I talked with 0:19:24.800 --> 0:19:27.440 Sam Barnes of the Atlantic Community Press Collective to get 0:19:27.440 --> 0:19:30.320 an update on the current state of the referendum. 0:19:31.040 --> 0:19:34.399 The referendum has more or less been stalled out since 0:19:34.560 --> 0:19:40.520 last fall. In response to a lawsuit from Decab County 0:19:40.560 --> 0:19:44.560 residents who claimed that their First Amendment rights were being 0:19:44.600 --> 0:19:50.520 infringed upon because they were not allowed to canvas for signatures, 0:19:51.440 --> 0:19:58.480 A core issued down an injunction, basically allowing the referendum 0:19:58.520 --> 0:20:03.760 campaign to have addition time to collect and then turn 0:20:03.840 --> 0:20:09.480 in signatures. The city then appealed that injunction. That whole 0:20:09.520 --> 0:20:13.520 situation is currently before the US Court of Appeals, who 0:20:13.840 --> 0:20:17.320 heard arguments from the city's lawyers and the vote campaign's 0:20:17.359 --> 0:20:22.520 lawyers in January and who have not yet issued a 0:20:22.680 --> 0:20:23.760 ruling on that appeal. 0:20:24.560 --> 0:20:27.239 The referendum campaign has turned in what they say are 0:20:27.320 --> 0:20:31.760 one hundred and sixteen thousand signatures, which, if verified, should 0:20:31.840 --> 0:20:34.800 be more than enough to get the referendum onto the ballot, 0:20:35.440 --> 0:20:38.000 but the City of Atlanta has said that they cannot 0:20:38.080 --> 0:20:41.640 start counting these signatures until the Court of Appeals issues 0:20:41.680 --> 0:20:42.359 their ruling. 0:20:42.920 --> 0:20:45.800 It's not really clear where in case law, or in 0:20:45.840 --> 0:20:50.679 Georgia code, or wherever they are getting that legal precedent from. 0:20:50.880 --> 0:20:55.919 But it is the line they are sticking to. So 0:20:56.440 --> 0:21:01.080 long story short, even if the city was to start 0:21:01.119 --> 0:21:05.800 counting votes today, and even if there were enough to 0:21:05.840 --> 0:21:09.080 get this referendum on the ballot the next election, it 0:21:09.119 --> 0:21:12.439 could appear on the ballot in is the general election 0:21:12.600 --> 0:21:17.119 in November twenty twenty four. Cop City for APD and 0:21:17.160 --> 0:21:20.560 the APF's repeated claims is going to open and fall 0:21:20.640 --> 0:21:24.280 of twenty twenty four. Now, I don't personally have a 0:21:24.320 --> 0:21:26.480 lot of faith in that at one point it was 0:21:26.520 --> 0:21:29.240 going to open in August twenty twenty three, just the 0:21:29.280 --> 0:21:34.159 simple fact of every construction project runs into delays. But 0:21:35.359 --> 0:21:39.560 I think it is pretty clear, especially given the clear 0:21:39.640 --> 0:21:43.040 cutting and the concrete pouring that has already happened on 0:21:43.080 --> 0:21:48.560 the site, that it will make significant progress by by November. 0:21:49.119 --> 0:21:52.320 It's pretty obvious that the city strategy here is to 0:21:52.359 --> 0:21:55.919 just delay and delay and delay the referendum until the 0:21:56.000 --> 0:22:00.600 thing gets built, effectively just making the refere random dead 0:22:00.640 --> 0:22:01.080 in the water. 0:22:02.080 --> 0:22:05.480 On February eighth, the Federal Bureau of Investigation connected a 0:22:05.520 --> 0:22:08.680 series of house raids on three homes in South Atlanta 0:22:08.800 --> 0:22:12.400 that they suspected of being linked to Stop Coop City activists. 0:22:13.359 --> 0:22:16.359 Phones and computers were seized, along with stop Coop City 0:22:16.400 --> 0:22:21.119 related zines and posters. Occupants of the house were dragged outside, 0:22:21.200 --> 0:22:24.880 sometimes literally. A few were detained for hours on end, 0:22:25.160 --> 0:22:28.160 with one being driven to a police headquarters for interrogation, 0:22:28.520 --> 0:22:30.320 but was released later that evening. 0:22:30.880 --> 0:22:33.119 This morning, at six am, investigators of the Land of 0:22:33.119 --> 0:22:37.199 Fire Rescue, Georgia berl of Investigation, Federal Burial of Investigation, 0:22:37.600 --> 0:22:40.760 Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms, and the Atlanta Police Department, 0:22:41.160 --> 0:22:43.840 joined by uniformed elements of this department, the Georgia State Patrol, 0:22:44.320 --> 0:22:48.520 executed search warrants signed by judges who'd review the probable cause, 0:22:49.040 --> 0:22:52.480 allowing us to enter three locations to seek evidence connected 0:22:52.520 --> 0:22:55.159 to acts of vandalism and arson that have occurred over 0:22:55.200 --> 0:22:58.800 the last few months. As investigators went to those locations, 0:22:58.840 --> 0:23:00.000 they were armed with an arrest. 0:22:59.800 --> 0:23:03.480 War It's worth noting that the search warrants cited federal 0:23:03.520 --> 0:23:08.560 statutes on the destruction of vehicles and reco While executing 0:23:08.560 --> 0:23:11.600 one of these raids, police located in individual whom an 0:23:11.640 --> 0:23:15.560 arrest warrant was issued for days prior and brought them 0:23:15.560 --> 0:23:19.720 into custody. This arrest, along with the one in South Carolina, 0:23:19.800 --> 0:23:24.160 also marked the very first arrests linked to clandestine nighttime 0:23:24.200 --> 0:23:27.040 attacks in the three year history of the movement. 0:23:27.680 --> 0:23:29.800 We're processing all the locations now. 0:23:30.400 --> 0:23:32.919 The evidence to make that arrest had already been in 0:23:32.920 --> 0:23:35.200 possession of law enforcement even before we executed the search 0:23:35.240 --> 0:23:38.760 warrants this morning, So the arrest wort was signed before today, 0:23:39.200 --> 0:23:41.640 and the arrest wort was not connected with the search 0:23:41.680 --> 0:23:43.640 warsols were independent of the arrest we'd be making once 0:23:43.640 --> 0:23:44.600 we located this gentleman. 0:23:45.119 --> 0:23:47.879 In a city press conference, the mayor opened by saying 0:23:47.920 --> 0:23:51.720 this arrest was quote linked to multiple acts of vandalism 0:23:51.760 --> 0:23:55.680 and arson unquote, yet they were only charged with one 0:23:55.720 --> 0:23:59.480 account of first arrearson, which police linked to the burning 0:23:59.560 --> 0:24:02.600 of eight police motorcycles last July, near the end of 0:24:02.640 --> 0:24:06.800 that summer's week of action. This particular arson is unique 0:24:06.840 --> 0:24:10.000 from the many other copcity related at arsens in a 0:24:10.040 --> 0:24:13.919