Six folks in Atlanta have been charged with home terrorism for participating in protests in opposition to a large new police coaching facility referred to as Cop Metropolis. The protesters have been participating in a months-long encampment in a forested space of Atlanta the place town desires to construct a $90 million, 85-acre coaching heart on the location of a former jail farm. Conservationists have lengthy wished to guard the realm, the South River Forest, from future improvement. Protesters are additionally urging town to spend money on alternate options to extra policing. “That is principally a boondoggle that’s been given to the police to make them really feel higher,” says Kamau Franklin, founding father of Neighborhood Motion Builders, which is part of a coalition attempting to cease the development of Cop Metropolis in Atlanta.
TRANSCRIPT
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AMY GOODMAN: That is Democracy Now!, democracynow.org. I’m Amy Goodman, with Juan González, as we finish right now’s present in Atlanta, the place 5 folks have been charged with home terrorism for participating in protests in opposition to a large new police coaching facility referred to as Cop Metropolis. The protesters have been participating in a months-long encampment in a forested space of Atlanta the place town desires to construct a $90 million, 85-acre coaching heart on the location of a former jail farm.
Conservationists have lengthy fought to guard the realm, the South River Forest, from future improvement. Protesters are additionally urging Atlanta officers to spend money on communities, no more policing. That is Jasmine Burnett of the group Neighborhood Motion Builders.
JASMINE BURNETT: Individuals are asking for reasonably priced housing, paving the streets — proper? — having sidewalks, higher entry to MARTA. And as an alternative, they’re supporting a challenge, a $90 million challenge, to assemble the biggest city warfare coaching facility on this nation.
And whereas we perceive that it is a very native difficulty — proper? — it’s taking place proper right here — we additionally know that it is a nationwide drawback, it is a international drawback. The identical techniques that they’re utilizing in opposition to Forest Defenders are the identical techniques that the Israeli authorities is utilizing in opposition to Palestinians — proper? — the identical techniques that the U.S. army is using in Africa by way of the AFRICOM program. Proper? This can be a international wrestle in opposition to the occupation of our communities.
AMY GOODMAN: We go now to Atlanta, Georgia, the place we’re joined by Kamau Franklin, the founding father of Neighborhood Motion Builders, a part of the coalition attempting to cease the development of Cop Metropolis in Atlanta.
Kamau, welcome to Democracy Now! We knew you in New York whenever you have been a part of the Middle for Constitutional Rights. You’ve moved to Atlanta. Speak concerning the significance of what’s taking place now and 5 activists being charged with — home terrorism?
KAMAU FRANKLIN: Sure. Thanks for having me.
And as an replace, it’s now six activists. A day after the preliminary raid, one other raid was performed, and one other activist was arrested and is now being charged.
So, we expect these costs are organising, actually, the thought of criminalizing dissent round Cop Metropolis. Up to now, these activists have been denied bail. There’s a second bail listening to that’s developing. However due to the outrageous costs, the very generalized cost of home terrorism beneath Georgia regulation, that these of us are nonetheless being held.
And this has been a concerted effort by regulation enforcement companies from town, the Atlanta Police Division; the county, DeKalb Police Division; the state, the Georgia Bureau of Investigation; on the federal stage, the Homeland Safety and FBI— have all been concerned in a process pressure which is concentrating on these organizers and activists on the bottom for being against Cop Metropolis.
JUAN GONZÁLEZ: And what are the particular actions that they allegedly have taken to warrant these sorts of costs?
KAMAU FRANKLIN: Nicely, the fascinating factor about these arrests is that these arrests have been principally a push within the forest to destroy every part that was constructed by way of a resistance motion, a bunch of parents that we name the Forest Defenders, by way of the unfastened coalition of people that have really moved within the forest or who spend days within the forest tenting out as an act of civil disobedience. Keep in mind, Georgia is the place the place John Lewis and “good hassle” is meant to be accepted. However civil disobedience within the forest is one thing that’s not accepted when the police wish to construct a extremely militarized coaching floor.
And so, whereas these of us have been simply in a part of their encampment, they have been raided by the police, once more, by the Georgia Bureau of Investigation. Of us have been sitting, actually sitting in tree huts, the place they have been — all of their camp gear was destroyed. Rubber bullets have been used. Weapons have been pointing at their head. They have been concerned at that specific time in no exercise by any means, aside from the act of being within the forest. And so they all have been taken in after which charged on this type of RICO or conspiracy concept that the act of protest, the act of civil disobedience, direct motion, is one thing that’s now being criminalized, in a statute that actually doesn’t get utilized in Georgia, nevertheless it’s been on the books for numerous years. And so, these of us have been doing completely nothing however being within the forest as Forest Defenders on the time of their arrest.
JUAN GONZÁLEZ: And will you inform us somewhat bit extra about Cop Metropolis? I imply, how did this concept originate? Who backed it? What politicians have been behind it?
KAMAU FRANKLIN: Cop Metropolis is one thing that got here out after the George Floyd uprisings of 2020, after George Floyd was killed, Breonna Taylor was killed. Right here in Atlanta, Rayshard Brooks was killed by the police. And there have been large protests, as we all know, across the nation, even around the globe, round police violence, police brutality. There have been requires defunding the police. There have been calls to abolish the police. There have been calls to seek out new methods to deliver security to varied communities, significantly Black and Brown working-class communities.
And it was throughout that point that Keisha Lance Bottoms, then the previous mayor of Atlanta, and the Metropolis Council, together with the Atlanta Police Basis, the Atlanta Police Division, the police union, got here up with the thought to present principally a present to the police to make them really feel higher, as a manner of adjusting the narrative. And as we’ve seen over the previous couple of years for the reason that George Floyd uprisings, each Democrats and Republicans, elected officers, non-public corporations — the identical non-public corporations that claimed that they have been supporting Black Lives Matter — have put actually tens of thousands and thousands of {dollars} into funding this police equipment, this Cop Metropolis.
And so, throughout that point interval of shortly after the uprisings, the thought was got here up with that we should always — “we” being Atlanta — ought to give this present to the police of this coaching heart, which, once more, is principally — as Jasmine acknowledged in your clip, is an city warfare heart, the place there are going to be over a dozen capturing ranges. There’s going to be an explosive vary. There are going to be mock cities to follow city warfare. There’s going to be a helicopter pad for Black Hawk helicopters to land.
So, that is being performed proper in the course of a working-class and poor Black metropolis — I imply, Black space, in Atlanta, one of many final left intact. And so, that is all deliberate round altering the narrative, speaking about crime and the way this facility goes for use to battle crime, which is, you recognize, a lie on its face, as a result of this facility, even with out protests, would take 4 to 5 years to construct. So that is principally a boondoggle that’s been given to the police to make them really feel higher, to alter the narrative from abolishing or defunding the police to at least one wherein now the police are wanted to resolve acts of crime.
AMY GOODMAN: So, are you able to speak about, Kamau Franklin, the alternate options to militarize police that your group and the entire coalition is asking for? And what’s going to occur to those six activists charged with home terrorism? We simply have a minute.
KAMAU FRANKLIN: Yeah. I imply, our teams have known as for alternate options to policing by way of having exterior companies which might be known as if there’s psychological well being points, if there’s homeless points. On a extra radical finish, we’ve really known as for our communities being able to manage any policing that occurs, which suggests the flexibility to rent or hearth policing, to self-discipline police in our communities. We’ve known as for neighborhood copwatches, the place we watch the police, security walks, the place we create different avenues of security which aren’t across the police.
So, we’re persevering with to supporting the organizers and activists who have been arrested. We’re gathering bail funds as we communicate. We’re getting legal professionals for these of us. Once more, one other bail listening to is scheduled for the twenty seventh. So, proper now we’d like as a lot solidarity and assist as potential to assist these of us and to proceed to battle in opposition to Cop Metropolis being constructed.
AMY GOODMAN: Activist lawyer Kamau Franklin is founding father of the group Neighborhood Motion Builders, chatting with us from Atlanta, Georgia.
And that does it for our present. Democracy Now! is produced with Renée Feltz, Mike Burke, Deena Guzder, Messiah Rhodes, Nermeen Shaikh, María Taracena, Tami Woronoff, Charina Nadura, Sam Alcoff, Tey-Marie Astudillo, John Hamilton, Robby Karran, Hany Massoud and Mary Conlon. Our govt director is Julie Crosby. Particular due to Becca Staley, Jon Randolph, Paul Powell, Mike Di Filippo, Miguel Nogueira, Hugh Gran, Denis Moynihan, David Prude and Dennis McCormick.
And our condolences to our pricey colleague Simin Farkhondeh on the demise of her mom. We’re all with you, Simin.
I’m Amy Goodman, with Juan González. Try our transcripts, our podcasts at democracynow.org. Thanks a lot for becoming a member of us.
