‘Stop Cop City’ Week of Action Day 5: Cadence Bank Loan Protest, ‘March For the Forest’
Atlanta & DeKalb County, GA — The ‘Stop Cop City’ movement’s sixth week of action continued on Wednesday, with two events striking a more tense tone than the relatively calmer days earlier in the week.
At around 10:30 a.m., a few dozen protesters held an unannounced noise demonstration outside Cadence Bank, which is providing the Atlanta Police Foundation with a construction loan for building ‘Cop City.’ They reportedly chanted at the bank for about 20 minutes, with some bacon apparently being tossed toward the mass of police guarding the bank, before leaving.
Hey APD, Breakfast is served: pic.twitter.com/HfTAinlAV8
— ComradeCamera (@comradecamera) June 28, 2023
As dispersing protesters walked away on downtown sidewalks, Atlanta Police reportedly detained at least two people, with cell phone video showing one protester being wrestled to the ground by several officers as others ask why they were being arrested.
Today, following a protest at Cadence Bank––the bank behind the loan to the Atlanta Police Foundation for Cop City––police pursued and violently arrested a protester for no clear reason other than to continue intimidating and threatening the movement. #StopCopCity pic.twitter.com/YzHbJAEbzA
— #StopCopCity (@micahinATL) June 28, 2023
The arrested protester has been charged with felony obstruction and simple assault of a police officer, according to the Atlanta Community Press Collective, although it’s unclear from available footage what caused officers to interact with the person in the first place.
Update: the arrested individual was charged with felony obstruction and simple assault of a police officer.
— Atlanta Community Press Collective (@atlanta_press) June 28, 2023
Community organizer and abolitionist reverend Matthew Johnson was among those handled roughly by APD officers who charged at the dispersing crowd. Photos posted to social media indicate that officers tore a large hole in Johnson’s shirt.
Police also tore the shirt of Matthew Johnson, a faith leader and someone who has been highly visible in the movement. pic.twitter.com/KpHJqfpuCE
— #StopCopCity (@micahinATL) June 28, 2023
Later that afternoon, a scheduled ‘March For the Forest’ began gathering in Gresham Park at around 6 p.m. At 7:15, a crowd of between 150-200 people marched south along the bike path toward Intrenchment Creek Park and the area where the Atlanta Police Foundation has been razing approximately 85 acres of the Weelaunee Forest as they develop the proposed ‘Cop City’ site.
A #StopCopCity march of 150-200 people headed south from Gresham Park, walking most of a mile along the bike path towards Intrenchment Creek Park and the area where the Atlanta Police Foundation has been razing acres of public forest land for ‘Cop City’ pic.twitter.com/pUUQD0t3LT
— UNICORN RIOT (@UR_Ninja) June 29, 2023
It was initially unclear if protesters would confront police to access the forest or the construction site itself — meanwhile, reports emerged that a large group of police with riot shields had assembled at the entrance to Intrenchment Creek Park. The crowd of protesters marched a mile in the direction of Intrenchment Creek and ‘Cop City’ construction before pausing to hear speeches.
Belkis Terán, mother of ‘Stop Cop City’ organizer Manuel ‘Tortuguita’ Terán, who was killed by Georgia State Patrol in Intrenchment Creek Park in January, addressed the crowd and encouraged them to boycott companies that support the Atlanta Police Foundation, such as Home Depot, Coca-Cola and AT&T.
Belkis Terán, mother of forest defender Tortuguita (who was slain by Georgia State Patrol not far from where the march stopped) spoke to the crowd and thanked them for honoring her child’s memory by continuing the movement they died for. pic.twitter.com/0U6dyvto2I
— UNICORN RIOT (@UR_Ninja) June 29, 2023
An anonymous masked forest defender then addressed the crowd to explain why the march had decided to stop and turn around. They explained that in their view, police were treating ‘Stop Cop City’ protesters as “insurgent” combatants not entitled to conventional democratic rights, which meant the movement had to be careful to “proceed rationally” and not impulsively throw itself into a losing battle in the face of escalating repression. They stressed that, “I believe we can win this movement,” and encouraged forest defenders to be “creative” and commit themselves to actions where they felt they could successfully “go all the way” as opposed to pursuing media-spectacle martyrdom.
A masked forest defender then explained why the march stopped and turned around instead of confronting police:
— UNICORN RIOT (@UR_Ninja) June 29, 2023
“I believe that we are going to win this movement…but that’s going to require us to abandon the idea of looking good losing.” pic.twitter.com/0NBul6AFEg
The march then headed back to Gresham Park where participants socialized for some time before dispersing, with a sound cart providing music to the crowd.
A mobile sound cart provided music throughout the event – one of the tracks accompanying the group on its way back was ‘Andreaen Sand Dunes’ from the classic 1999 album ‘Neptune’s Lair’ by the legendary afrofuturist Detroit electro duo Drexciya (James Stinson and Gerald Donald) pic.twitter.com/neojAL5cQC
— UNICORN RIOT (@UR_Ninja) June 29, 2023
Unicorn Riot's coverage on the movement to defend the Atlanta Forest:
- Landing Page: Unicorn Riot Coverage of the Movement to Protect the Atlanta Forest
- Federal and State Police Raid Three Homes in Atlanta Leading to One Arrest Amid ‘Cop City’ Investigation (February 8, 2024)
- One Year Since Tortuguita’s Killing: A Reflection on our Coverage of the Movement Against ‘Cop City’ and the First Eco-Activist Killed in the US (January 18, 2024)
- ‘Cop City’ Defendant Victor Puertas Has Been Held For Months Without Trial, but His Community Hasn’t Forgotten Him (November 26, 2023)
- No Charges For Georgia Troopers Who Killed Manuel ‘Tortuguita’ Terán (October 6, 2023)
- Over 60 People Indicted on RICO Charges in Atlanta, Allegedly Promoting ‘Anarchist Ideas’ (September 5, 2023)
- Indigenous Climate Activist Victor Puertas Remains in Custody Despite No Indictment (July 26, 2023)
- 6th ‘Stop Cop City’ Week of Action – Unicorn Riot Coverage
- ‘Stop Cop City’ Week of Action Day 8: Youth Rally; Atlanta Police Vehicles Torched (July 2, 2023)
- ‘Stop Cop City’ Week of Action Day 7: Cadence Bank ‘Drop The Loan’ Protest, Panel on Overpolicing (June 30, 2023)
- Clergy Demand Release of Indigenous Climate Activist Victor Puertas from ICE Detention (June 29, 2023)
- ‘Stop Cop City’ Week of Action Day 5: Cadence Bank Loan Protest, ‘March For the Forest’ (June 29, 2023)
- ‘Stop Cop City’ Week of Action Day 4: Rally to Reopen Intrenchment Creek Park (June 27, 2023)
- ‘Stop Cop City’ Week of Action Day 3: Bike Ride/Rally, Signature Gathering, Discussing Movement History (June 26, 2023)
- ‘Stop Cop City’ Week of Action Day 2: Rematriating Mvskoke Land; Hardcore Benefit Show (June 25, 2023)
- ‘Stop Cop City’ Week of Action Begins: Day 1 (June 24, 2023)
- ‘Their Overreach is Sowing the Seeds of Their Undoing’: Forest Defender Speaks from Bartow County Jail (June 20, 2023)
- ‘Cop City’ Protesters Visit Nationwide Insurance (June 14, 2023)
- Atlanta City Council Approves $67 Million in Public Funds for ‘Cop City’ (June 6, 2023)
- Atlanta Solidarity Fund Organizers Granted Bond (June 2, 2023)
- Three Atlanta Activists Arrested, Home Raided Over Bail Fund (May 31, 2023)
- ‘Don’t Forget Us’: Forest Defenders Confront Horrors of Life in DeKalb County Jail (May 30, 2023)
- ‘Cop City’ Panel Member Posted Slurs Online, Archived Tweets Indicate (May 18, 2023)
- ‘We Do Not Need a School for Assassins’: Hours of Public Comment Unanimously Against ‘Cop City’ (May 16, 2023)
- Three Face Felonies for Allegedly Flyering Near Home of One Georgia Trooper Tied to Killing of Forest Defender (May 8, 2023)
- One Granted Bond, Two Denied Pretrial Release: Forest Defenders Appear for Preliminary Hearings (May 4, 2023)
- No Gunpowder Residue Found on Manuel ‘Tortuguita’ Terán According to DeKalb County Autopsy (April 21, 2023)
- Eight Remain in Jail from March 5 Weelaunee Forest Raid, 15 Released (March 24, 2023)
- Behind the #StopCopCity Domestic Terrorism Warrants (March 21, 2023)
- An Historic Direct Action in a Forest Outside Atlanta (March 18, 2023)
- Manuel ‘Tortuguita’ Terán’s Independent Autopsy Report Released at Press Conference (March 13, 2023)
- Police Raid Atlanta Forest After ‘Cop City’ Opponents Overrun Security Post (March 5, 2023)
- ‘Stop Cop City’ Week of Action Begins in Atlanta (March 4, 2023)
- ‘Tortuguita Vive’: A No-Compromise Movement Responds to Police Killing a Forest Defender (February 27, 2023)
- Atlanta Activists Say Prosecutors Plan to Indict them on RICO Charges (February 25, 2023)
- ‘Community’ Committee Cheers Police Violence as Authorities Repress Resistance to ‘Cop City’ (February 24, 2023)
- Supporters of ‘Cop City’ Opponents Rally in Philly (February 24, 2023)
- Minneapolis March Connects Roof Depot Demolition Resistance to the Atlanta Forest (February 21, 2023)
- Atlanta PD Releases Bodycam Footage from Deadly Jan. 18 Forest Raid (February 8, 2023)
- Manuel ‘Tortuguita’ Terán’s Family Seeks Transparency in Police Killing (February 7, 2023)
- City of Atlanta and DeKalb County Announce ‘Agreement’ Amid Growing Opposition to Cop City (January 31, 2023)
- Marches and Vigils Across the US Respond to the Police Killing of Forest Defender Tort (January 22, 2023)
- Protester Shot and Killed by Officers During Raid on Atlanta Forest (January 18, 2023)
- Blackhall Intensifies Destruction of Weelaunee People’s Park in Atlanta Forest (January 16, 2023)
- SWAT Teams Attack Atlanta Forest Encampments, Activists Charged with ‘Terrorism’ (December 18, 2022)
- [Mini Doc] Defending the Atlanta Forest: Behind the Movement to Stop Cop City (Oct. 9, 2022)
- “Cop City” General Contractors’ Offices Attacked (May 19, 2022)
- Police Raid Atlanta Forest Occupation (May 18, 2022)
- Atlanta Fights to Save Its Forest (May 14, 2022)
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