2023-09-13 13:28:14
The state of Georgia has indicted 61 Defend the Atlanta Forest activists — accusing 42 of them of being domestic terrorists — as part of an anarchist criminal conspiracy.
They are notably accused of having engaged in acts of vandalism once morest private property, arson, destruction of public property, attacks once morest public service workers, once morest the police , once morest ordinary citizens and acts of violence with firearms. The Atlanta Solidarity Fund linked to it is also accused of money laundering and charitable fraud.
An unprecedented attack on the social movement
Georgia’s Racketeer Influence Corrupt Organization Act (or RICO) is a particularly powerful legal instrument that draws inspiration from the federal RICO law, which was originally designed to go following organizations such as the Mafia. While Georgia frequently uses RICO to go following criminal organizations, including recently indicting former President Donald Trump for attempting to steal the election in 2000, its use once morest a social movement is unprecedented and constitutes a threat to all activists in Georgia and elsewhere.
Defend the Atlanta Forest, also known as Stop Cop City, is a diverse movement that brings together opponents of the construction of a public safety training center in Atlanta to train police and firefighters. Participants include environmentalists and animal rights activists who want to save the 33-hectare South River Forest, indigenous activists, opponents of prisons and police, and anti-racist activists. Although the organization does not define itself as anarchist, many members of the group are anarchists and socialists who support nonviolent direct action to stop construction. Property was certainly destroyed and there were violent confrontations with the police. But some of those charged in the conspiracy are not charged with any specific crime, and under the RICO statute, they don’t have to be.
An activist sequel to Black Lives Matter
The Stop Cop City movement originated in the nationwide Black Lives Matter protests once morest the police killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis on May 26, 2020. Then, on June 12, 2020, Atlanta police fatally shot a Black man from name Rayshard Brooks. He was sleeping in his car in the parking lot of a Wendy’s restaurant when police arrived and attempted to take a breathalyzer test on him. He struggled and tried to escape, but was then murdered by police. Local activists demanded divestment from police and defunding of social services, but the city decided to build the $90 million training center in the forest that served as the police’s recreation area. neighboring black community. As the Defend the Atlanta Forest movement grew and began practicing civil disobedience, Atlanta police cracked down and fatally shot forest defender Manuel Esteban Paez Terán, a Venezuelan immigrant known as “Tortuguita ”, who was sitting and had his hands in the air. He is the first environmental activist to be shot and killed by police in the United States.
Condemnation of direct action
The 109-page indictment contains extensive discussions of anarchism and mutual aid and condemns direct action. He also confuses the actions of the Blood street gang, which engaged in shootings that resulted in the death of an 8-year-old child, with the activities of Stop Cop City.
Civil rights organizations argued that the Atlanta Police Department’s harsh crackdown violated the movement’s activists’ free speech rights and aimed to stifle social protests. “We are extremely concerned by this staggering and unprecedented use of state terrorism, anti-racketeering and money laundering laws once morest protesters.”said Aamra Ahmad, senior attorney for the American Civil Liberties Union’s National Security Project.
The Stop Cop City movement has not been deterred. Since the indictment, some of its activists have chained themselves to bulldozers to stop construction. Some Atlanta residents also circulated a petition calling for a referendum on the construction of the training center. The fight continues in the streets, in the forests and now in the courts.
(Translated by the editorial staff)
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