inside of the occupied siemens hall at cal poly humboldt, a message about tortuguita
Not a membership-based movement
alt: @stopcopcity
[email protected]
Defend the Atlanta Forest
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🌲🌳 Decentralized movement to #StopCopCity
Not a membership-based movement
alt: @stopcopcity
[email protected]
Not a membership-based movement
alt: @stopcopcity
[email protected]
Yale Gaza Solidarity Encampment says
"Justice for Tortuguita
Stop Cop City!"
The state wants to cover the accused in a blanket of silence, stealing their voice from them, erasing their motivations, aims, and perspectives completely. We must support everyone facing charges for fighting Cop City, even the innocent ones!
https://www.thenation.com/article/activism/cop-city-defendants-rico-indictment/
It turns out that Ryan Millsap, when he is not busy stealing public lands to build a soundstage complex, is sending anti-Black and antisemitic text messages. Need a refresher on who he is, and the connection to our movement?
https://www.propublica.org/article/ryan-millsap-movie-executive-racist-antisemitic-texts
Ryan Millsap is the former CEO of Blackhall/Shadowbox studios. They are a owned by an equity firm called Commonwealth Group, which Millsap sits on the board of. In 2017, Millsap acquired 55 acres of forested land on Bouldercrest Road. He clearcut it.
This scarred land still sits idle. Once Millsap realized the land has drainage and flooding problems, he panicked. In a series of meetings with Dekalb Co. commissioners (whom he regarded, we now learned, with racial disgust), he negotiated for an illegal land-swap deal.
This land-swap deal, facilitated by Dekalb CEO Michael Thurmond, was accompanied by tax incentives. It transferred ownership of a public park (Intrenchment Creek Park) to Millsap, in "exchange" for the land he already clearcut.
Resistance to this process has been a part of our movement since day one. There have been repeated clashes between Millsap, his security, and protesters.
In one instance in Fall 2022, the businessman threatened to kill people at an independent music festival in Intrenchment Creek Park, when that land hosted multiple encampments to resist tree-felling. Festival goers were attacked with a back-hoe.
Protesters defended themselves from Millsap, who had also hired off-duty Dekalb police as his private security (which is legal in GA, including with their uniforms, car, and service weapon). This culminated in the burning of Millsaps tow truck, which you may remember.
After the clearing of the encampments in the park in Dec 2022, Millsap rushed into the land to cut down as many trees as possible. Community members rushed to the site repeatedly to stop him before he eventually received a "stop work" order.
Once encampments were re-established in Jan 2023, Millsap worked w/ Dekalb CEO Michael Thurmond, the GBI, APD, GA State Patrol, ATF, and others to attack them. On Jan 18, these raids resulted in the death of a protester named Tortuguita. The survivors were charged with terrorism.
While the struggle against the proposed Cop City development has received more attention and care this past year, we cannot forget the other dynamics driving local activists to resist the destruction of the Weelaunee Forest and the privatization of Atlanta lands.
An Atlanta Movie Exec Praised for His Diversity Efforts Sent Racist, Antisemitic Texts
Ryan Millsap has built important relationships with Black leaders and Jewish colleagues. But his private communications, copies of which were filed in court, exhibit derogatory views toward those communities.
to get this far, they killed a protester, doxed 116K residents, charged 61 random people with RICO, raided 5 houses, follow residents around as they go about their lives, ignore dozens of hours of public comment, and they are years behind schedule & STILL facing setbacks 💪
"THE MOST IMPORTANT APPOINTMENT IS ALWAYS AT THE BARRICADES"
Maybe its time to share educational-only materials of occupations *inside* of university buildings, drafted by dreamers, students, and radicals in 2012. Read the how-to guide (PDF) here:
https://www.indybay.org/uploads/2012/03/20/occupationguideredux.pdf
For those investing in the APF/Cop City, those who sit on its board, those who insure its contracts, those who are building it, protecting it, or funding it: wherever you go, we have you surrounded!
Inspire Brands, even an army of police cannot keep your investment safe. Today, Georgia Tech students and community members disrupted Paul Brown, Inspire CEO and Atlanta Police Foundation (APF) board member, and demanded that his company divest from Cop City/APF.
Some of you are too young to remember the murder of Walter Scott in Charleston 2015. He was killed in cold blood by two police cops who planted a gun. They were caught on camera. Do not *ever* believe the police story. We don't forget.
