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Defend the Atlanta Forest

Website:

defendtheatlantaforest.org/
Location:

Atlanta, GA
Type:

Anti-Law Enforcement Activist Organization
Formation:

2020

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Defend the Atlanta Forest is a far-left activist organization that seeks to prevent the construction of law enforcement training facilities near Atlanta, Georgia, which have been referred to as “Cop City.” 1 The Georgia state government through state Attorney General Chris Carr (R) alleged Defend the Atlanta Forest was an “anti-government, anti-police, and anti-corporate extremist organization.” 2

In September 2023, more than 60 activists were indicted on state charges for their alleged ongoing efforts to halt the construction of the “Cop City” facility. 3 4

History and Leadership

The Defend the Atlanta Forest movement began in 2020 following the police-involved deaths of George Floyd and Rayshard Brooks. 5

Activities

The Georgia state government through state Attorney General Chris Carr (R) alleged Defend the Atlanta Forest was an “anti-government, anti-police, and anti-corporate extremist organization.” 6 The group is based in the Atlanta, Georgia, metro area. 7

According to reporting by left-wing media outlet The Intercept, Defend the Atlanta Forest seeks to use the tactics of the 2016 encampments at Standing Rock Indian Reservation and the 2020 “uprisings” following the death of George Floyd with other “novel resistance compositions” to oppose the construction of law enforcement training facilities near Atlanta, Georgia. The organization has also referred to these law enforcement training facilities as a “structural commitment to racist harm.” 8

Defend the Atlanta Forest promotes the Atlanta Solidarity Fund, which supports the legal costs for protestors who were arrested opposing the construction of an Atlanta law enforcement training center in DeKalb County, Georgia that critics have labeled “Cop City.” It also calls for builders of the facility project to drop their construction contracts. 9 10

Defend the Atlanta Forest also claims that the land in Atlanta, Georgia, was stolen from the Muscogee Creek tribe. The group uses these claims to justify its political activism. 11

Controversies

Defend the Atlanta Forest opposes the construction of new police and law enforcement training facilities near Atlanta, Georgia, that activists have billed as “Cop City.” The organization has released statements saying that the training facilities should be dismantled. In one official statement, Defend the Atlanta Forest has claimed that police “kill people, every single day.” Statements from the group regarding the dismantling of the law enforcement training facility have been endorsed by more than 600 left-of-center organizations, including Rainforest Action Network, Critical Resistance, Code Pink, Rising Tide North America, 350.org, Showing Up for Racial Justice (SURJ), National Lawyers Guild, Democratic Socialists of America, Extinction Rebellion, No Coal No Gas, Atlanta Antifascists, Sunrise Movement, and others. 12

In September 2023, more than 60 activists were indicted on charges for their alleged ongoing efforts to halt the construction of Atlanta’s law enforcement training center in DeKalb County, Georgia. 13 Affidavits on the arrest warrants for the accused include allegations of criminal trespass, sleeping in the forest, and aligning with Defend the Atlanta Forest by “occupying a tree house while wearing a gas mask and camouflage clothing.” 14 Twenty-three of the activists arrested in the raid now face state racketeering charges for their participation in the Defend the Atlanta Forest movement. 15 Three of those arrested were also accused of misleading donors by sending money to support Defend the Atlanta Forest. 16

The indictments also allege that the Defend the Atlanta Forest’s purpose is to occupy all or parts of the 381 forested acres in DeKalb County to slow the development of the site’s construction. 17 Georgia Attorney General Chris Carr (R) said that the organization subscribes to an anarchist philosophy holding that society should abolish police, government, and private business. 18

Funding

Defend the Atlanta Forest has received support from the left-of-center Network for Strong Communities. 19

References

  1.  Lennard, Natasha. “The Crackdown on Cop City Protestors Is So Brutal Because of the Movement’s Success.”The Intercept. January 27, 2024. Accessed via Web Archive July 19, 2024. https://archive.md/PCj2P#selection-1143.0-1147.446.
  2. Jozsef Papp and Shaddi Abusaid. “More than 60 Atlanta training center activists named in RICO Indictment.” Atlanta Journal Constitution. September 5, 2023. Accessed July 20, 2024. https://www.ajc.com/news/crime/breaking-more-than-60-training-center-activists-named-in-rico-indictment/DQ6B6GHTAJAJRH4SLGIIBAMXR4/.
  3. Bhansali, Rajasvini. “Philanthropy Must Safeguard Our Right to Protest, a Key Pathway to Progress.” Inside Philanthropy. June 27, 2024. Accessed July 19, 2024. https://www.insidephilanthropy.com/home/2024/6/27/philanthropy-must-safeguard-our-right-to-protest-a-key-pathway-to-progress.
  4. Rick Rojas and Sean Keenan. “Georgia Officials Target Bail Fund Crackdown on ‘Cop City’ Protests.” New York Times. June 2, 2023. Accessed via Web Archive July 19, 2024. https://archive.md/jGK6v#selection-799.0-804.0.
  5. Jozsef Papp and Shaddi Abusaid. “More than 60 Atlanta training center activists named in RICO Indictment.” Atlanta Journal Constitution. September 5, 2023. Accessed July 20, 2024. https://www.ajc.com/news/crime/breaking-more-than-60-training-center-activists-named-in-rico-indictment/DQ6B6GHTAJAJRH4SLGIIBAMXR4/.
  6. Jozsef Papp and Shaddi Abusaid. “More than 60 Atlanta training center activists named in RICO Indictment.” Atlanta Journal Constitution. September 5, 2023. Accessed July 20, 2024. https://www.ajc.com/news/crime/breaking-more-than-60-training-center-activists-named-in-rico-indictment/DQ6B6GHTAJAJRH4SLGIIBAMXR4/.
  7.  “Frequently Asked Questions.” Defend the Atlanta Forest. Accessed July 20, 2024. https://defendtheatlantaforest.org/faq/.
  8. Lennard, Natasha. “The Crackdown on Cop City Protestors Is So Brutal Because of the Movement’s Success.”The Intercept. January 27, 2024. Accessed via Web Archive July 19, 2024. https://archive.md/PCj2P#selection-1143.0-1147.446.
  9. “Frequently Asked Questions.” Defend the Atlanta Forest. Accessed July 19, 2024. https://defendtheatlantaforest.org/faq/.
  10. “Solidarity.” Defend the Atlanta Forest. Accessed July 19, 2024. https://defendtheatlantaforest.org/solidarity/.
  11. “Home.” Defend the Atlanta Forest. Accessed July 19, 2024. https://defendtheatlantaforest.org/.
  12. “Solidarity.” Defend the Atlanta Forest. Accessed July 19, 2024. https://defendtheatlantaforest.org/solidarity/.
  13. Jozsef Papp and Shaddi Abusaid. “More than 60 Atlanta training center activists named in RICO Indictment.” Atlanta Journal Constitution. September 5, 2023. Accessed July 20, 2024. https://www.ajc.com/news/crime/breaking-more-than-60-training-center-activists-named-in-rico-indictment/DQ6B6GHTAJAJRH4SLGIIBAMXR4/
  14. Lennard, Natasha. “The Crackdown on Cop City Protestors Is So Brutal Because of the Movement’s Success.” The Intercept. January 27, 2024. Accessed via Web Archive July 19, 2024. https://archive.md/PCj2P#selection-1143.0-1147.446.
  15. Bhansali, Rajasvini. “Philanthropy Must Safeguard Our Right to Protest, a Key Pathway to Progress.” Inside Philanthropy. June 27, 2024. Accessed July 19, 2024. https://www.insidephilanthropy.com/home/2024/6/27/philanthropy-must-safeguard-our-right-to-protest-a-key-pathway-to-progress.
  16. Rick Rojas and Sean Keenan. “Georgia Officials Target Bail Fund Crackdown on ‘Cop City’ Protests.” New York Times. June 2, 2023. Accessed via Web Archive July 19, 2024. https://archive.md/jGK6v#selection-799.0-804.0.
  17. Jozsef Papp and Shaddi Abusaid. “More than 60 Atlanta training center activists named in RICO Indictment.” Atlanta Journal Constitution. September 5, 2023. Accessed July 20, 2024. https://www.ajc.com/news/crime/breaking-more-than-60-training-center-activists-named-in-rico-indictment/DQ6B6GHTAJAJRH4SLGIIBAMXR4/.
  18. Jozsef Papp and Shaddi Abusaid. “More than 60 Atlanta training center activists named in RICO Indictment.” Atlanta Journal Constitution. September 5, 2023. Accessed July 20, 2024. https://www.ajc.com/news/crime/breaking-more-than-60-training-center-activists-named-in-rico-indictment/DQ6B6GHTAJAJRH4SLGIIBAMXR4/.
  19. Jozsef Papp and Shaddi Abusaid. “More than 60 Atlanta training center activists named in RICO Indictment.” Atlanta Journal Constitution. September 5, 2023. Accessed July 20, 2024. https://www.ajc.com/news/crime/breaking-more-than-60-training-center-activists-named-in-rico-indictment/DQ6B6GHTAJAJRH4SLGIIBAMXR4/.
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Defend the Atlanta Forest


Atlanta, GA