Tag: Stop Cop City

‘Stop Cop City’ Activists at Anti-Israel Emory University Encampment Allegedly Funded by Left-Wing Donor Network, Court Records Reveal

Tom Pappert
Emory University anti-Israel encampment

The Stop Cop City protesters who were present at the anti-Israel encampment at Emory University on Thursday previously raised money from more than 70,000 donors and used it to selectively bail alleged criminals out of jail, according to Georgia state prosecutors who targeted the group in a criminal racketeering case last year.

Georgia Attorney General Chris Carr indicted 61 individuals allegedly associated with Stop Cop City in a Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations (RICO) Act case in September 2023. Carr alleges the activists are engaged in a criminal conspiracy to use violence in a bid to prevent the construction of the Atlanta Public Safety Training Center, which will be used to train Georgia police and firefighters.

Read More

‘Stop Cop City’ Protesters Confronted by Police over Emory University Campus Encampment for Palestine

Tom Pappert
Emory University Protest

The Stop Cop City movement reported on Thursday that Georgia State Police confronted its protesters as they attempted to create a pro-Palestine encampment on the Emory University campus.

A post to the social media platform X by Stop Cop City activists claims “an encampment in the Emory quad” was established at 7:30 a.m. “to demand total divestment from Israeli apartheid and Cop City,” the activists’ preferred term for the Atlanta Public Safety Training Center.

Read More

‘Stop Cop City’ Protesters Arrested After Chaining Themselves to Crane at Future Atlanta Public Safety Training Center

Tom Pappert
Stop Cop City Protesters

Two protesters representing the “Stop Cop City” movement were arrested at the site of the future Atlanta Public Safety Training Center on Wednesday after police say they chained themselves to a crane and unfurled a banner with the words “Drop Cop City,” indicating their opposition to the training center.

The Atlanta Police Department (APD) confirmed a the incident in a post to the social media platform X.

Read More

Slain ‘Stop Cop City’ Protester Wrote ‘Killing Cops Is Okay’ in ‘Anti-Police’ Diary Georgia Attorney General Wants to Use in RICO Trial

Tom Pappert

The office of Georgia Attorney General Chris Carr (R) filed a motion on Tuesday to use the diary of slain “Forest Defender” Manuel “Tortuguita” Terán in the racketeering trial of more than 60 activists allegedly tied to violent protests at the site of the future Atlanta Public Safety Training Center.

Police say Terán opened fire on Georgia State Patrol (GSP) troopers at the site of the public safety training center in January, prompting troopers to fatally shoot him. Prosecutors determined the troopers involved in the fatal shooting will face no charges in October.

Read More

‘Block Cop City’ Activists Plan Three Day Protest in Atlanta

Tom Pappert

Activists have announced a three-day protest against the Atlanta Public Safety Training Center will occur in November in what the organizers claim is a final bid to stop its construction.

The activists claim protest will occur from November 10-14, and are organizing it because their petition calling for a public referendum on the future of a facility that will train law enforcement and firefighters remains stalled with the City of Atlanta even though the public safety training center is nearly halfway complete.

Read More

Atlanta Public Safety Training Center Nearly Halfway Complete, Mayor Claims

Tom Pappert

Atlanta Mayor Andre Dickens said on Thursday that the city’s new Public Safety Training Center is about 40 percent complete, and he expects construction on the site’s buildings will begin in January.

Dickens told the Buckhead Young Republicans that the Atlanta Public Safety Training Center is nearly halfway complete, according to The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. The training center is located in Buckhead, the uptown commercial and residential district of Atlanta that has sought to become its own city, and the outlet noted that 61 percent of residents supported its construction in a March poll. 

Read More

No Charges for Georgia State Troopers Who Shot Protester During Occupation of Atlanta Public Safety Training Center

Tom Pappert

Prosecutors are recommending zero charges for the Georgia State Patrol (GSP) troopers who responded to civil unrest at the future site of the Atlanta Public Safety Training Facility, according to a Friday report from the Mountain Circuit District Attorney’s Office. The report concerns the January 18 incident that saw one trooper shot by activist Manuel “Tortuguita” Terán, which prompted the troopers to return fire and fatally shoot Terán.

The report includes testimony from troopers who responded to the future site of the public safety training center on January 18, and prosecutors ultimately ruled that use of lethal force by GSP was “objectively reasonable under the circumstances of this case,” and thus requires no criminal charges.

Read More

Just 12 Percent of Georgia Voters Support ‘Stop Cop City’ Petition to Block Atlanta Public Safety Training Center, Poll Shows

Tom Pappert

Polling released on Friday reveals the majority of Georgia voters support the new Atlanta Public Safety Training Center, with only 12 percent of poll respondents expressing support for the controversial “Stop Cop City” petition to force a public referendum on the project.

60 percent of Georgia voters back the Atlanta Public Safety Training Center, agreeing with Atlanta Mayor Andre Dickens, according to polling by 20-20 Insight. An additional 28 percent of Georgia voters are not sure, and just 12 percent support the “Stop Cop City” petition.

Read More

Atlanta to Scan Petitions to Stop Public Safety Training Center, Post Online

Tom Pappert

The City of Atlanta has approved legislation to scan more than 115,000 petition signatures calling for a referendum on the Atlanta Public Safety Safety Training Center on Monday. After scanning the petitions, Atlanta will make them available to the public, but will not determine the validity of the signatures at this time.

Activists claimed to deliver 116,000 petition signatures on September 11, nearly doubling the 58,232 required to force a public vote on the future of the training center for law enforcement and first responders. However, a legal ruling briefly extended the petition deadline from August 21 to late October, before it was stayed by a higher court. Atlanta ultimately accepted the petitions, but said it would not begin processing them until it received guidance from the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals.

Read More

Senator Raphael Warnock Asks Atlanta to be Lenient on Petitions to Stop Public Safety Training Center

Tom Pappert

Senator Raphael Warnock (D-GA) wrote a letter to the City of Atlanta on Friday asking officials to be lenient when examining the petitions gathered to force a public referendum on the Atlanta Public Safety Training Center.

In his letter, Warnock reportedly advised Atlanta he is “closely monitoring” the petition, and claimed to be “concerned” the city’s signature matching and verification process “led to discrimination” and potential “disenfranchisement of eligible voters” during previous ballot initiatives. Warnock urged Atlanta “to err on the side of giving the people the ability to express their views” and to establish “clear and transparent timelines and requirements” going forward.

Read More