Four protesters and a journalist claim they were unlawfully arrested by Atlanta Police Department (APD) officers as retaliation for a protest against the public safety training center on the day the City Council approved its lease. According to lawsuit complaints filed in U.S. District Court, the arrests happened as the plaintiffs left a Sept. 8, […]
Tag: public safety training center
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‘Cop City’ protesters to rally at Nov. 6 arraignment of RICO defendants
“Stop Cop City” protesters are planning a Nov. 6 rally to support 61 defendants facing racketeering and other charges related to activism opposing Atlanta’s public safety training center. The rally is planned for 9 a.m. at the Fulton County Justice Center & Courts at 185 Central Ave. The defendants are expected to be arraigned in […]
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State police killing of ‘Cop City’ protester was ‘objectively reasonable,’ prosecutor finds
The state police killing in January of protester Manuel “Tortuguita” Paez Teran — a flashpoint of the “Cop City” protests — was “objectively reasonable” due to its shootout circumstance, and no criminal charges will be brought against the troopers, a prosecutor has ruled. “The use of lethal (deadly) force by the Georgia State Patrol was […]
Posted inColumns
Trio targeted in ‘Cop City’ RICO charges have a history of exposing police ‘misdeeds’
Like a bad airplane-reading thriller, the controversial RICO indictment against “Defend the Atlanta Forest” protesters spins its yarn about anti-police conspirators around a core trio of characters from a local bail fund, who are presented as shadowy behind-the-scenes figures caught in the spotlight of justice. It’s a tale that leaves out its own biggest plot twist. The […]
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Major human rights, press freedom groups condemn RICO charges against ‘Cop City’ activists
A diverse array of major human rights and press freedom groups are among 90 organizations calling on Georgia Attorney General Chris Carr to drop controversial racketeering charges against “Cop City” protesters. Among signatories to a letter announced Sept. 28 are Amnesty International USA, the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression (FIRE), the Center for Constitutional Rights, the Freedom […]
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Attorneys say City cannot create its own training center referendum, City Council source says
City attorneys say the Atlanta City Council cannot create its own ballot question about the public safety training center, according to a source at the council. “Law Department says they don’t have the authority to put it on the ballot,” said the source, adding the detailed opinion is still being reviewed inside the council. An […]
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City Council member may seek to put training center on the ballot, break referendum stalemate
An Atlanta City Council member may introduce a resolution to put the public safety training center on the ballot, pending City attorneys’ advice — a move that could cut through a legal stalemate over the “Vote to Stop Cop City” effort. District 5 City Councilmember Liliana Bakhtiari is “considering introducing legislation on Monday” to put […]
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Judge denies request to force ‘Cop City’ referendum signature-counting, questions City’s ‘honesty’
A federal judge has denied an emergency request from the “Vote to Stop Cop City” effort to force the counting of signatures — while also criticizing the City as dishonest in its conflicting legal arguments. U.S. District Judge Mark H. Cohen’s Sept. 13 denial order said the referendum effort is in legal confusion primarily because […]
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‘Vote to Stop Cop City’ hits stalemate over petition deadline while protesters announce direct action
After submitting what it says is over 116,000 signatures, the “Vote to Stop Cop City” effort is locked in a legal stalemate over interpretation of a petition-submission deadline. Meanwhile, some Atlanta City Council members say they will push to get it on the ballot – and protesters say they will march on the public safety […]
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Lawyer in Trump election case warns of RICO cases’ ‘dire’ First Amendment impacts
Georgia’s two nationally spotlighted RICO prosecutions – respectively targeting Trump’s election scheme and “Cop City” protesters – are being cheered or jeered by political partisans, depending on whose agenda is served. But a prominent civil liberties attorney defending one of Trump’s advisors said both cases show how racketeering laws are a “dire” threat to the […]
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‘Cop City’ protesters chain themselves to bulldozer, are arrested
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 […]
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61 hit with RICO charges in ‘Cop City’ cases, setting up a First Amendment battle
The Defend the Atlanta Forest (DATF) movement opposing the public safety training center is accused of being a criminal organization in a sprawling indictment charging 61 people with racketeering and other major felonies, setting up a First Amendment legal battle. The indictment, dated Aug. 29 but released Sept. 5, was presented in Fulton County Superior […]
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Settlements in New York’s major police misconduct cases include at least two protesters with Georgia ties
At least two protesters with Georgia ties are among hundreds eligible for more than $20 million in settlements from two New York City police misconduct class action lawsuits – a legal strategy that has yet to be used here despite some similarities with “Cop City” and Black Lives Matter cases. One of the class-action protesters […]
Posted inJohn Ruch
Governor’s Office pre-written terrorism claim shows how ‘Cop City’ arrests get political spin
The May 31 arrests of bail-fund operators was a watershed moment in the “Cop City” protests, generating unprecedented backlash as chilling free speech – especially Gov. Brian Kemp’s statement equating them with a “criminal organization” helping “domestic terrorism.” What the public didn’t know, documents obtained by SaportaReport reveal is that Kemp’s commentary about the arrests […]
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Environmentalists ask judge to halt all training center construction as pollution claims play out
Environmentalists suing Atlanta’s public safety training center planners over alleged pollution are asking a judge to halt all construction and order the site to be completely replanted while the case is pending. The Aug. 23 request was part of a flurry of activity this week in three separate lawsuits attempting to halt the project, dubbed […]
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‘Cop City’ referendum leaders claim voter suppression as training center speeds toward construction start
The “Vote to Stop Cop City” referendum’s possible ballot appearance is likely delayed until March amid a signature-verification process complaint while the public safety training center it targets is steaming ahead to a full construction start this month. Timing is everything in this unprecedented struggle and part of the clashing strategies. Referendum organizers originally intended to get their training-center-killing […]
Posted inColumns
From Trump to ‘Stop Cop City,’ a historic week in answering who runs Atlanta
What a week for fans of history and democracy in Atlanta. First, former President Trump was indicted on Aug. 14 for, among other things, attempting to “find” roughly 12,000 votes in his scheme to overturn the 2020 presidential election. Then “Vote to Stop Cop City” announced it gathered more than 104,000 signatures to allow a […]
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Original training center review committee complaints about lack of input in newer version
The City’s original review committee for the public safety training center is complaining about its lack of input in a newer version, perhaps the ultimate example of the transparency and inclusion controversies swirling around both groups and the entire project. The Community Stakeholder Advisory Committee (CSAC) voiced the concerns at an Aug. 15 virtual meeting, […]
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Environmental group sues to halt public safety training center construction for alleged runoff pollution
An environmental group is asking a federal court to change or halt the construction of Atlanta’s public safety training center due to alleged sediment runoff pollution. The South River Watershed Alliance (SRWA) filed a lawsuit on Aug. 1 against the City and the Atlanta Police Foundation (APF), the facility’s private planner, in U.S. District Court […]
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‘Vote to Stop Cop City’ gets another 60 days, more signature-gatherers in major court victory
In a major court victory, the “Vote to Stop Cop City” referendum effort will get at least 60 more days to gather signatures, which can now be done by nonresidents of Atlanta as a federal judge says the ban on their participation is likely unconstitutional. The July 27 preliminary injunction in the lawsuit Baker v. […]
