Five protesters chained themselves to a bulldozer at the Atlanta Public Safety Training Center construction site on Sept. 7 and were arrested.
The protesters delivered what they called a “People’s Stop Work Order” — a satirical government code-enforcement document — for the controversial project on Constitution and Key roads in DeKalb County, which opponents call “Cop City.” A group of other protesters gathered outside.
The Atlanta Police Department (APD) made the arrests and identified those arrested as: David Dunn, 61, of Roswell; Jeffrey Jones, 65, of Smyrna; Lalita Martin, 28 of Atlanta; Timothy Sullivan, 25, of Burlington, Mass.; and Ayeola Whitworth, 25, of Atlanta. All were charged with criminal trespass and obstruction, and Martin also was charged with reckless conduct.
Dunn is a minister at the Unitarian Universalist Metro Atlanta North Congregation church in Roswell. The church did not immediately respond to a comment request. Jones wore a clerical collar and was identified as a clergy member in a press release issued by a publicist for the “Stop Cop City” movement. Photos and video of the incident were distributed under the “People’s Stop Work Order” name in an email credited to the FANG Collective, an environmental group in Rhode Island. Other protesters held a rally outside the DeKalb jail shortly after the arrests.
APD said it is working with the Georgia Bureau of Investigation (GBI) on charging the arrestees, a suggestion that stronger charges may be coming.
The incident followed this week’s announcement of racketeering charges against 61 people tied to the “Defend the Atlanta Forest” and “Stop Cop City” protest movements, which have drawn First Amendment concerns, as did the previous state domestic terrorism charges against various defendants. The GBI has played a role in the domestic terrorism and racketeering charges.
In the press release, Dunn and Whitworth were quoted as referring to the charges of terrorism and conspiracy under the state Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations (RICO) law.
“There is a war happening against protesters,” said Whitworth. “If we don’t stand up for our right to protest now, standing up in the future will be in vain. Cop City is in the process of being built and this can only continue if we allow it.”
“Despite the repressive tactics of authorities who wish to disenfranchise the community and charge protestors with domestic terrorism and RICO, people of faith will continue to act to resist the militarization of our society,” said Dunn.
The training center, which is in a pre-construction phase, is controversial for planning secrecy, environmental impacts and police reform concerns.
The protest movement has involved peaceful marches and rallies, civil-disobedience trespassing, and some destructive and violent acts, such as arson of vehicles and rocks and Molotov cocktails thrown at or near police officers and construction workers. Tensions have increased with the hefty criminal charges and the controversial January killing by the Georgia State Patrol of the protester known as Tortuguita in an alleged shootout that wounded a trooper.
Pending lawsuits are challenging the plan, as is the “Vote to Stop Cop City” effort to place the facility’s lease on the ballot as a referendum. Organizers of the referendum said Sept. 7 that they plan to submit signatures for that effort to the City on Sept. 11.
In the press release, Whitworth referred to the City’s legal challenge to the referendum effort as a reason to continue “direct actions like sit-ins, boycotts and blockades.”
“This movement cannot be won with a ballot alone; we must organize together for mass direct actions if we want to have a chance at protecting our community and saving our planet,” Whitworth said.
Update: This story has been updated with identifications of the arrestees and material from protester press releases.
