‘EXTREME AND UNJUSTIFIED’

Protesters at Atlanta’s ‘Cop City’ Are Slapped With Domestic Terrorism Charges

Atlanta has proposed a massive law enforcement training center in the Weelaunee Forest, despite fierce local opposition.

Atlanta police clashed with protesters on Tuesday, arresting five people amid an ongoing battle for control of a patch of the Weelaunee Forest that the city plans to turn into a massive law enforcement training ground—a proposal critics have dubbed “Cop City.” When law enforcement arrived to the site of the proposed facility on Tuesday to clear away barricades blocking some entrances, protesters “threw rocks at police cars and attacked EMTs outside the neighboring fire stations with rocks and bottles,” according to a police statement. The protesters, who call themselves forest defenders, say that police took “extreme and unjustified measures,” barraging them with tear gas and pepper balls, and forcibly removing an unaffiliated local resident who was walking on a forest trail “at gunpoint.” The arrested parties, who range in age from 20 to 25, were hit with a flurry of charges, including domestic terrorism, aggravated assault and criminal trespassing. “After police cleared the area of concern, which included makeshift treehouses, they found explosive devices, gasoline, and road flares,” said the Georgia Bureau of Investigation in a news release.