Truthout
Cop City
![Journalist Matt Scott with the Atlanta Community Press Collective moves away from a cloud of tear gas thrown by Georgia law enforcement in Atlanta, Georgia on Monday, Nov. 13, 2023. ‘Stop Cop City’ activists gathered from across the United States to attend the ‘Block Cop City’ march to the construction site for the Atlanta Public Safety Training Center.](https://truthout.org/app/uploads/2023/11/2023_1115-cop-city-2-400x300.jpg)
Protesters Hoped to Plant Trees at Cop City Site. They Were Tear Gassed Instead.
Police attacked protesters in a militarized response to a nonviolent Stop Cop City action this week in Georgia.
![Environmental activists occupy Atlanta forest](https://truthout.org/app/uploads/2023/11/GettyImages-1471709703-400x300.jpg)
Stop Cop City Activists Plan Mass Return to Weelaunee Forest
The mass mobilization against the military-style 85-acre police training facility will take place November 10-13.
![Sister-in-law, Fiona Paez, holds a photograph of environmental activist Manuel Esteban Paez Terán, better known as Tortuguita, during a press conference in Decatur, Georgia on February 6, 2023.](https://truthout.org/app/uploads/2023/10/GettyImages-1246850894-400x300.jpg)
Georgia Prosecutor Refuses to Charge State Troopers Who Killed Tortuguita
The DA will not press charges despite autopsy evidence that Terán had their hands raised and did not fire on police.
![A makeshift memorial for Forest Defender Manuel Esteban Paez "Tortuguita" Terán, who was killed by law enforcement during a raid to clear the construction site of a police training facility activists have dubbed "Cop City," near Atlanta, Georgia, on February 6, 2023.](https://truthout.org/app/uploads/2023/09/GettyImages-1246854128-2-400x300.jpg)
Reps. Bush, Tlaib Accuse Police of “Cover-Up” in Killing of Cop City Protester
Cori Bush and Rashida Tlaib called on the Justice Department to investigate the fatal police shooting of Tortuguita.
![](https://truthout.org/app/uploads/2023/09/GettyImages-1472402599-400x300.jpg)
Despite 116,000 Signatures, Atlanta Won’t Validate Stop Cop City Petition
City officials are waiting to see if the 11th Circuit Court rules in favor of the activists and forces the validation.
![A person displays a sign reading "Johnny Hollman should still be alive; *uck the police; stop cop city" behind another protester, holding a sign reading "THE CITY OF ATL HAS BLOOD ON THEIR HANDS" while speaking into a microphone](https://truthout.org/app/uploads/2023/09/2023_0906-stop-cop-city-2-400x300.jpg)
RICO Charges Attempt to Paint Stop Cop City Movement as a Criminal “Conspiracy”
The sweeping 109-page indictment presents acts of mutual aid and zine reading as evidence of a criminal “conspiracy.”
![People stand behind a banner reading "STOP COP CITY; NYC SUPPORTS ATLANTA FOREST DEFENDERS" during an outdoor protest](https://truthout.org/app/uploads/2023/09/2023_0906-stop-cop-city.jpg)
Activist Responds to RICO Charges Intensifying Criminalization of Stop Cop City
“Everything that the state has accused the movement of doing is ultimately a projection,” says Micah Herskind.
![Two smiling people, one with a yellow clipboard and a 'let the people decide' cop city vote coalition shirt](https://truthout.org/app/uploads/2023/08/2023_0822-cop-city-400x300.jpg)
Activists Now Have 104,000 Signatures to Put “Stop Cop City” on the Ballot
Worried that city officials will reject large numbers of signatures, organizers have collected far more than required.
![Andre Dickens, Atlanta mayor, speaks onstage during the funeral services of Dr. Christine King Farris, the eldest sister and last living sibling of civil rights leader Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., at Ebenezer Baptist Church on July 16, 2023, in Atlanta, Georgia.](https://truthout.org/app/uploads/2023/08/GettyImages-1549216608-400x300.jpg)
Atlanta Mayor’s Office Files for Stay on Federal Stop Cop City Injunction
A federal lawsuit extended the petition deadline and opened the process to DeKalb County residents.
![Environmental activists hold a rally and a march through the Atlanta Forest, a preserved forest that is scheduled to be developed as a police training center, on March 4, 2023, in Atlanta, Georgia.](https://truthout.org/app/uploads/2023/07/2023_0728-cop-city-protest-400x300.jpg)
Judge: Officials Unlawfully Tried to Obstruct Stop Cop City Ballot Effort
The judge struck down a requirement for only Atlanta residents to be allowed to collect signatures for the referendum.