"With the end of the Food Autonomy Festival came the end, too, of 10 days of mass mobilization in the forest. As the movement grows and mobilizes new kinds of engagement, more possibilities open up for the Weelaunee Forest and those who choose to protect it. Alongside the student organizations, faith leaders, and Black-led organizations catalyzed by the movement, an assortment of farmers and botanists across the continent now have multiple-year investments planted in the forest along with a combative vision to foster them.

Two years into the movement to Stop Cop City, the Atlanta Police Foundation’s vision of a future wrought with violence and ecological destruction continues to be challenged. People from disparate backgrounds have come together to halt the destruction of the forest utilizing a myriad of different tactics, but all contributing to the creation of a free Weelaunee Forest."

#StopCopCity #Atlanta, #WeelauneeForest #Tortuguita #AtlantaForest

https://itsgoingdown.org/we-are-not-in-the-least-afraid-of-ruins-food-autonomy-in-the-weelaunee-forest/

Two years ago, the police murdered Manuel Esteban Paez Terán, also known as Tortuguita.

They were an environmental activist who was protesting with Stop Cop City in Georgia. At the time, they were camping in a forest. Cops raided it, and their human experience ended there.

In honor of their life, folks in New York took over this billboard.

More on Tortuguita:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Killing_of_Tortuguita

#Tortuguita #Environment #Climate #Protest #StopCopCity #AbolishThePolice

Police officers won't face charges in fatal shooting of protester Manuel Teran at Atlanta's '#CopCity'

Six troopers fired shots that resulted in Teran's death in January.

ByMark Osborne and Kiara Alfonseca
October 6, 2023

"None of the #Georgia State Police troopers involved in the fatal shooting of Manuel '#Tortuguita' Teran will face charges, according to Stone Mountain Judicial Circuit District Attorney George R. Christian.

"Teran, who used they/them pronouns, was shot and killed by police on Jan. 18 as officers raided campgrounds occupied by environmental demonstrators who had allegedly been camping out for months to protest the development of the Atlanta Public Safety Training Center, dubbed '#CopCity' by critics.

"According to an autopsy of Teran sent to ABC News, they did not have gunpowder residue on their hands. Officials claimed Teran fired the first shot at a state trooper. Officers then responded with gunfire.

"In Friday's announcement that no charges would be filed, Christian wrote that Teran responded to officers firing 'less lethal' pepperball rounds by 'shooting four (4) times his 9 mm pistol through the tent striking and seriously injuring a Georgia State Trooper. Six Troopers returned fire resulting in the death of Teran.'

"'The use of lethal (deadly) force by the Georgia State Patrol was objectively reasonable under the circumstances of this case,' Christian wrote. 'No criminal charges will be brought against the Georgia State Patrol Troopers involved in the shooting of Manuel Perez Teran.'

"Teran had at least 57 gunshot wounds in their body, according to the autopsy, including in the hands, torso, legs and head.

"An independent autopsy from the family found that Teran’s hands were raised during the fatal shooting, however, the DeKalb County autopsy stated, 'There are too many variables with respect to movement of the decedent and the shooters to draw definitive conclusions concerning Mr. Teran's body position.'

"The DeKalb County Medical Examiner's Office had ruled the death a homicide.

"The Georgia Attorney General's Office is conducting its own investigation into the shooting."

https://abcnews.go.com/US/police-officers-face-charges-fatal-shooting-protester-manuel/story?id=103782565

#StopCopCity #DefendTheForest #ACAB #DefendWeelauneeForest #Fascism #ClimateJustice #DirectAction #JusticeForTort #JusticeForTortugita #AtlantaGeorgia