Activists in the Weelaunee Forest, just outside of Atlanta, had been protesting the development of an 85-acre site into a police and firefighter training center, which they call "Cop City". The protesters had been living on the site and referred to themselves as "forest defenders". A police operation on January 18 resulted in the death of Manuel Esteban Paez Terán, who went by the name Tortuguita, and the hospitalization of a state trooper who was shot. Officials claim officers fired in self-defense after Tortuguita shot the trooper, while activists argue it was state-sanctioned murder. The land was initially suggested to be turned into park space by environmentalists who argued that the trees were essential to preserving Atlanta's tree canopy and reducing flooding.
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I want to do a follow-up on an interview that I did. I guess it was about almost two weeks ago with Matthew Johnson from the Beloved Community Ministries in Georgia. It was in cop city which is like I think it's a 400 or close to a 500-acre stretch of Forest on the outskirts of Atlanta bordered by some black communities that are slated to be the largest cop training facility in the nation. and protesters have gone on there. and originally this property was supposed to be slated for something else. I mean it's a really horrible type of situation and just furthers the militarization of the police. and supported by major corporations. yeah totally. and there have been protesters living in the forest attempting to prevent the development of this forest for that purpose. and they've been somewhat successful and the cops have started to assault them. in fact Kemp just a couple of days ago I think it was just around the time of the interview activated a thousand National Guardsmen. and it followed in the and just like in a couple of weeks earlier I think it was the beginning of January one of the protesters sleeping in their tent was shot by the Atlanta police. 13 times. and supposedly according to the Atlanta police at that time and it wasn't just the Atlanta police there were state cops there was a hole-like sort of squad. well, you gotta bring out the big guns for the forest protectors you know? Their claim was that Tortuguita was the name of this protester in fact I think we got a call that day after we ran the interview that someone who had worked with them in various activist things around the Atlanta area over the years. said they were a very gentle person. that it was hard to believe that they were firing on the cops. The story that the Atlanta officials have said was that the cops were you know fired upon. and then they returned fire. There have now been body cam footage released I guess it was released by Atlanta. and you can hear two things on this an Atlanta police officer says that sounds like suppressed fire. suppress fire apparently, it's my understanding, and granted I'd have not been a police officer if the fire is the way they're referred to police firing. that the cops would have fired this. they hear suppressed fire first. and then you hear one person, an Atlanta police officer, referring to the state cops man you left your own officer up to. so the idea is that the cop was fired upon by other cops. probably in mistake because they're you know in the woods and they don't know who's who. and they blamed it on Tortuguita who they shot and killed. multiple times shot. Here is that footage.
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