Latest news with #StopCopCity
Scoop
2 days ago
- Politics
- Scoop
Defending Rights & Dissent And Project South Sue DHS & FBI For 'Cop City Records
Civil liberties group Defending Rights & Dissent and social justice organization Project South are jointly suing the Department of Homeland Security and the Federal Bureau of Investigation for their failure to provide records relating to the proposed law enforcement training facility in Atlanta known as 'Cop City.' The complaint is linked here. DRAD and Project South have been seeking documents that will uncover the extent and duration of DHS and FBI investigations and surveillance of the grassroots movement to stop 'Cop City' since February 2023. More than two years later, DHS has failed to respond entirely, while the FBI has repeatedly stonewalled and slow-walked the release of these documents in the public interest. 'Individuals exercising their First Amendment rights have been branded as terrorists or extremists for opposing Cop City. All too often we know federal agencies like the FBI or DHS play a role in facilitating these crackdowns. When free expression is on the line, we need full transparency from the government. It is unacceptable that these agencies have stonewalled us, forcing us to take them to court in order to defend the people's right to know and freedom to act,' said Chip Gibbons, Defending Rights & Dissent Policy Director. 'Cop City' has been controversial since it was first proposed in 2021 as a $90 million training ground for police and fire departments to be built on the beloved South River Forest, widely known as one of last remaining green spaces in metropolitan Atlanta, Georgia. A movement in opposition to the facility known as 'Stop Cop City' has garnered national attention, with thousands of residents and activists voicing their criticisms of the project. Law enforcement has aggressively cracked down on these protests, arresting activists, charging more than 40 with 'domestic terrorism,' and even shooting and killing 26-year-old Manuel Paez Terán during a raid on the public park. Previously released documents have already shown that both DHS and the FBI have been monitoring activists' web activity and are treating their opposition as consistent with 'anarchist violent extremist' and 'environmental violent extremist' ideologies. This aggressive surveillance contributed to Georgia police's violent repression of the Stop Cop City movement. 'The right to protest is enshrined in the U.S. Constitution. This fundamental right has continuously been violated by the U.S. government through its surveillance of social justice movements historically and in the present moment. This long and dark history needs to be exposed and the government's surveillance with the aim of destroying our movements must be countered,' said Juilee Shivalkar, Staff Attorney with Project South. DHS and FBI have 60 days to respond to the Freedom of Information Act lawsuit, which was filed on May 9. Defending Rights & Dissent is a national civil liberties organization that defends the American people's right to know and freedom to act through grassroots mobilization, public education, policy expertise, and advocacy journalism. Founded in 1986, Project South, the Institute to Eliminate Poverty & Genocide, is rooted in the legacy of the Southern Freedom Movement and Black Radical Tradition. Project South cultivates strong social movements in the U.S. South and global South, powerful enough to contend with some of the most pressing and complicated social, economic, and political problems we face today.
Yahoo
4 days ago
- Politics
- Yahoo
2 advocacy groups sue feds over Atlanta training center records
Two civil liberties groups have teamed up in a lawsuit against the Department of Homeland Security and the FBI over records related to the Atlanta Public Safety Training Center. Defending Rights & Dissent and Project South said in their lawsuit that the government failed to provide records on surveillance and investigations of protesters in connection with the site. [DOWNLOAD: Free WSB-TV News app for alerts as news breaks] The organizations said they have sought these records since February 2023. 'More than two years later, DHS has failed to respond entirely, while the FBI has repeatedly stonewalled and slow-walked the release of these documents in the public interest,' the lawsuit stated. The groups said that people protesting the facility 'have been branded as terrorists or extremists for opposing 'Cop City.' All too often we know federal agencies like the FBI or DHS play a role in facilitating these crackdowns.' The DHS and FBI have 60 days to respond to the Freedom of Information Act lawsuit filed on May 9, the lawsuit said. RELATED STORIES: Defense attorneys say they were blindsided by new evidence in 'Stop Cop City' RICO case Defendants in Georgia 'Cop City' case say they are in limbo as trial delays continue Leaders behind building Atlanta Public Safety Training Center 'surprised' by community pushback Sixty-one defendants were indicted on state racketeering charges in 2023 in connection with the protests and the violence surrounding them. Fulton County Judge Kevin Farmer has severed the cases and will try them five at a time, with trials expected to start as soon as this month. Protests escalated at the site after the 2023 shooting death of Manuel Esteban Paez Terán, known as Tortuguita. Paez Terán was camping near the site when authorities launched a clearing operation. Officials said they killed the 26-year-old after the activist shot and wounded a trooper from inside a tent. A family-commissioned autopsy concluded they were killed with their hands in the air, but a prosecutor found the officers' use of force was 'objectively reasonable.' [SIGN UP: WSB-TV Daily Headlines Newsletter]
Yahoo
14-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Defense attorneys say they were blindsided by new evidence in ‘Stop Cop City' RICO case
A Fulton County judge is promising to streamline a complicated racketeering case with 61 defendants. The charges stem from the Stop Cop City protests and the violence surrounding them. Prosecutors announced on Wednesday that after two years, they'd found new evidence they wanted to introduce. Defense attorneys thought that was very late in this process. Prosecutors said law enforcement gave them new evidence in the case, and they tried to get it to the defense attorneys, more than 30 of them, as quickly as possible. 'For the first time ever, the state revealed that there's more evidence in this case. Fifty-seven gigabytes, actually,' defense attorney Xavier De Janon told the court. That's an issue because Fulton County Judge Kevin Farmer severed all 61 cases and announced he'll start trying them in groups of five. RELATED STORIES: Defendants in Georgia 'Cop City' case say they are in limbo as trial delays continue GA prosecutors drop money laundering counts against 3 Atlanta training center protesters Protesters take over Atlanta City Council meeting by throwing ping-pong balls, yelling The first in the series of trials could start as soon as June. All 61 defendants and their lawyers crowded into courtroom 1D on Wednesday for what's called a status update. They were given a May 30 deadline to file all their motions so the trial could finally begin. Defendant Marlon Kautz insists the trial is politically motivated. 'As long as 61 people are facing decades in prison on RICO charges simply for being associated with a political movement, protest everywhere is chilled,' Kautz told Channel 2's Richard Elliot. De Janon couldn't stress how complicated a RICO case with 61 defendants will be. 'It's no secret with all that, this case is extremely complex. 61 co-defendants, multiple allegations over multiple years,' De Janon said. The state attorney general's office is trying this case. Elliot reached out to that office for comment on this story, but so far, has not heard back from them.
Yahoo
05-05-2025
- Yahoo
Man accused of setting APD motorcycles on fire appears in court
Less than one week after the official opening of the Atlanta Public Safety Training Center, one of the protesters appeared in court. John Mazurek is accused of setting fire at a police precinct in 2023. Channel 2's Steve Gehlbach was at the Fulton County Courthouse, where there were around a dozen demonstrators outside while Mazurek was in court. [DOWNLOAD: Free WSB-TV News app for alerts as news breaks] Based on the proceedings, it doesn't look like Mazurek will be going to trial any time soon. An attorney for Mazurek and a prosecutor told the judge they're still negotiating a plea deal and need more time. Prosecutors said a jury trial is a last resort. TRENDING STORIES: Man accused of setting APD precinct on fire in July 2023 arrested, Atlanta officials confirm APD patrol car set on fire in southeast Atlanta neighborhood, police confirm 'This is not the way:' Atlanta mayor, police chief respond to attacks on training facility 'So we're not going anywhere, the defendant's on bond,' an attorney said. Mazurek, 30, was arrested for first-degree arson. While he's out of jail, he's wearing an ankle monitor. He was arrested for the 2023 attack on an Atlanta police precinct where multiple APD motorcycles were set on fire. Atlanta Police Chief Darin Schierbaum said when he was arrested that the fires were more than just a harmless property crime. 'We are very fortunate that we did not stand in front of you in July to note the passing of an Atlanta police officer due to an arson attack,' Schierbaum said previously. Outside of the courthouse on Monday, a small group chanted and held up a banner reading 'Free Jack.' Even after the official opening of the training center last week, the 'Stop Cop City' protesters said they're not going away. 'We can still push back on the general militarization of the police,' one protester said. 'Butch,' who didn't want to give his full name, said the legal process is the punishment for Mazurek but wouldn't address if they thought torching police vehicles was appropriate or not. 'We think they're making extravagant charges, don't think they have a clear idea who the suspect is,' Butch said. 'So they're pinning it on one person.' Mazurek's defense attorney told Channel 2 Action News that they're still waiting on a ruling from the judge about motions argued in 2024. She said those should be done in the next two weeks and reset the next hearing in the case for the last week in June. [SIGN UP: WSB-TV Daily Headlines Newsletter]
Yahoo
01-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Inside ‘Cop City': What Atlanta's Controversial Training Center Looks Like
The Atlanta Public Safety Training Center — the southern DeKalb County facility colloquially known as 'Cop City' — officially opened its doors Tuesday after four contentious years of development. The 85-acre campus will serve as the training grounds for the city's police and firefighters, yet it has received strong pushback due to its environmental impact, $67 million taxpayer price tag, and prospect of police militarization being used against Black citizens. 'We need this training center so that we can better service you,' Roderick Smith, chief of Atlanta Fire and Rescue, said during a December media tour of Cop City. 'No matter what stories you've heard about what's going on or what's transpiring here, we've been very transparent about what this facility means to each department and what services we intend to provide.' Cop City was first announced in April 2021 by then-Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms as a means of increasing morale and improving retention among Atlanta police officers following a wave of protests during summer 2020. Activists began organizing to oppose the facility almost immediately, but Stop Cop City — a movement of racial and environmental justice activists — received national and international attention after Georgia Bureau of Investigation SWAT shot and killed 26-year-old Manuel 'Tortuguita' Paez Terán there on the morning of Jan. 18, 2023. The unit was raiding South River Forest to clear out activists known as 'forest defenders' who were camping in the woods adjacent to where the facility is now located. The shooting spurred protests in downtown Atlanta that led Gov. Brian Kemp to declare a state of emergency. Local elected officials who sought to delegitimize the movement labeled people affiliated with Stop Cop City as 'domestic terrorists' and 'outside agitators.' Despite Stop Cop City gaining momentum, particularly on local college campuses, the political will to move forward with the facility never faltered. In June 2023, Stop Cop City launched the Cop City Vote campaign with the support of organizations like Working Families Power, Community Movement Builders, and the NAACP Legal Defense and Education Fund. The campaign collected more than 100,000 signatures with the goal of putting the controversial training center on the ballot. Despite support for the referendum from U.S. Sen. Raphael Warnock, former state Rep. Stacey Abrams, and Bernice King, the city refused to count the signatures to determine if enough had been gathered to force a vote. Mayor Andre Dickens has been a staunch supporter of the facility, asserting that more training is necessary to reduce instances of police brutality. Now that the training center is open, activists say they remain committed to fighting against the trend of increased spending on policing and decreased spending on public services. 'Our fight isn't over until Cop City falls and Atlanta reallocates funding towards services that actually keep our communities safe,' reads a press release from The People's Campaign to Stop Cop City, which held a press conference at Jackson Street Bridge on Tuesday. 'Cop City may be built, but Atlantans' resistance remains as strong and determined as ever.' Capital B Atlanta toured Cop City in December for an inside look at the training center. This is what we saw. Lt. Greg Lyon, commander of the mounted patrol, talks with the media. The horse stables that were previously located in Grant Park have been moved to the new training center. The name 'Cop City' nods to the mock city that includes a fake gas station/convenience store, school/apartment building, and two-story home where police and SWAT officers will practice conducting raids and responding to hostage situations and active shooter threats. Atlanta Police Chief Administrative Officer Marshall Freeman stands in front of the greenspace that will become a 0.9-mile walking trail that is open to the public. Police and fire recruits will take public safety courses in the main classroom building, which also has a community space designated for local groups like neighborhood watch to hold meetings. Recruits, officers, and firefighters will practice driving squad cars, fire trucks, or motorcycles. ABOVE: Atlanta Fire and Rescue Chief Roderick Smith stands in front of the mock fire station at the training center. BELOW: In the six-story burn tower, firefighters will practice rescues in full gear and conditions that simulate a house fire. The post Inside 'Cop City': What Atlanta's Controversial Training Center Looks Like appeared first on Capital B News - Atlanta.
