Forest Justice Defense Fund (FJDF)

Open Collective lists Forest Justice Defense Fund’s “fiscal host” as Siskiyou Mutual Aid. ² FJDF was formerly a fiscally sponsored project of the Network for Strong Communities, a left-of-center organization that provides legal assistance to protesters arrested during demonstrations. ³ According to reporting in Tablet magazine, Georgia state prosecutors alleged that “the Forest Justice Defense Fund was a fraudulent charity paying for ammunition purchases in furtherance of a criminal conspiracy” related to the “Cop City” protests in metropolitan Atlanta, Georgia. ¹

Background

The Forest Justice Defense Fund was started in 2021 in response to the release of construction plans in the Weelaunee Forest outside Atlanta for a police training facility which protesters call “Cop City.” ^{4 5} In response to the construction plan, several left-wing organizations formed to oppose the training facility, including Stop Cop City, the Forest Defenders, and Defend the Atlanta Forest. FJDF funds these organizations and provides legal assistance to the protesters of the various groups. ^{6 7}

Controversy

2023 Police Shooting

A report in Tablet magazine alleged that Forest Justice Defense Fund reimbursed the Forest Defenders for the purchase of equipment for violent protests that occurred after a “Cop City” protester was killed by police. Equipment included tents, camping supplies, surveillance equipment, shortwave radios, drones, and ammunition. ¹

The shooting itself happened on January 18, 2023, when Georgia State Police officers attempted to clear the construction area occupied by the Forest Defender protesters. According to a Georgia state investigation, when Manuel Esteban “Tortuguita” Paez Teran refused to leave his tent, officers fired irritants. Paez Teran fired shots at the officers, striking one officer under his bulletproof vest in the hip and groin area. Police returned fire, killing Paez Tean who had occupied the area for several months in a tent. ⁸

In response to Paez Teran’s shooting, the Forest Defenders and other Stop Cop City affiliates orchestrated several protests on the construction site which led to several arrests. In the week following the shooting, several protesters were arrested and charged with domestic terrorism for their participation in the protests and occupation of the site. ^{9 10}

The National Public Radio (NPR) reported that in March 2023, “more than 150 masked activists left a nearby music festival and stormed the proposed site of the training center, setting fire to construction equipment and throwing rocks at retreating law enforcement officers.” ¹¹ Some 35 individuals were arrested, and 23 were charged with domestic terrorism for the event. ^{12 7}

RICO Case

The Atlanta Solidarity Fund (ASF) is a Network for Strong Communities-sponsored bail fund used to support arrested Stop Cop City protesters and other Forest Defenders prosecuted for their protests. ¹

In May 2023, ASF executives Marlon Scott Kautz, Savannah Patterson, and Adele Maclean were arrested for money laundering and charity fraud for alleged support of other criminal acts committed at the police training center’s build site and other metro Atlanta locations. ^{7 13} Tablet magazine described the indictment as alleging that “the Forest Justice Defense Fund was a fraudulent charity paying for ammunition purchases in furtherance of a criminal conspiracy” related to the Stop Cop City and Forest Defenders. ¹

The ASF and FJDF organizers who bailed out the “Cop City” protesters have since sought the dismissal of the state-level RICO case. That case has uncovered that over $230,000 of donations intended for ASF were distributed to the Forest Justice Defense Fund. ¹⁴

Although the case has not been dismissed, Fox 5 Atlanta reported, “Fulton County Judge Kimberly Esmond Adams said the Georgia Attorney General’s Office committed ‘gross negligence’ by allowing privileged attorney-client emails to be included among a giant cache of evidence that was distributed months ago to investigators and dozens of other defense lawyers.” The case remains open as of early 2025. ¹⁵

Fiscal Sponsors

The Network for Strong Communities (NSC) was the previous fiscal sponsor of the Forest Justice Defense Fund. The NSC was founded in August 2020 as a left-of-center organization that provides legal assistance to left-wing protesters arrested during demonstrations. The group also calls for more police accountability, stating it increases “oversight” on police activity, and provides “civilians with the tools they need” to monitor police officers. ¹⁶

One of the organization’s initiatives, the Atlanta Solidarity Fund, attempted to assist in bailing out 23 protesters charged with domestic terrorism in Atlanta, Georgia, in March 2023 after a demonstration against “cop city.” According to authorities, protesters threw Molotov cocktails, commercial-grade fireworks, bricks, and rocks at police officers. ³

As of February 2025, Open Collective lists Forest Justice Defense Fund’s “fiscal host” as Siskiyou Mutual Aid. ²

Finances

Although the Forest Justice Defense Fund (FJDF) does not report its own finances, it has an Open Collective crowd-sourced fundraising page and received most of its funding from its former fiscal sponsor, the Network for Strong Communities, from which it has received at least $230,000. ^{17 14}

In 2022, NSC reported $343,007 in revenue, $234,396 in expenses, and $3,565,926 in total assets. ¹⁸

The FJDF has also received support from other left-wing climate activism groups that have encouraged supporters to give to the fund, including the Climate Justice Alliance (CJA), a major coalition of climate activist groups. ¹ The National Committee for Responsive Philanthropy, another left-of-center philanthropy think tank, encouraged its donors to support FJDF in its fight against “Cop City” which the group characterized as a “dual threat” to “climate and reproductive justice.” ¹⁹