Repression has brought us together.
Weelaunee the Free is a platform to host a united front of solidarity among a large and diverse group of people. Whether you are a defendant, on a support crew, or if you are part of the movement to defend the forest and stop Cop City, this platform will provide you with resources, inspiration, solidarity, and updates on repression in the movement.
Since spring 2021, a grassroots movement in Atlanta has prevented construction of what is intended to be the largest police training facility in the US. The Atlanta Police Foundation (APF) seeks to turn 300 acres of the Weelaunee forest into a tactical training compound, featuring a mock city. This land is also in the crosshairs of film production company Shadowbox Studios, aiming to transform the adjacent Weelaunee People’s Park into the largest movie soundstage complex in the US.
Our community’s response has been fierce and unwavering, standing strong together, from student walkouts and city hall speak-outs to marches, sabotage, and a forest encampment that lasted over a year. More Atlantans signed a referendum petition to challenge Cop City on the ballot than voted in the last primary election cycle — a testament to Atlantans’ collective voice and determination.
They are afraid of the movement’s strength.
All over the country, Cop City’s contractors and funders have been pressured to drop their contracts and divest from the project. The movement has built serious power in defense of the earth and in resistance to policing. We know that this is why it is facing unprecedented repression.
On January 18, 2023, during a multi-agency police raid into the Weelaunee forest, police shot and killed Manuel “Tortuguita” Terán. According to forensic analysis, Tortuguita was seated cross-legged with their hands raised when they were murdered by the police.
At this point, the state has arrested over 100 people in an effort to criminalize the Stop Cop City movement. Dozens of activists were charged under Georgia’s Domestic Terrorism law after attending a music festival in the South River Forest, and 61 people have been indicted under RICO, a law designed to target organized crime, for routine political activism. In early 2024, The Georgia House of Representatives passed SB63, a bill that criminalizes nonprofit bails funds like the Atlanta Solidarity Fund. Forty-one people were arrested on domestic terrorism charges for their participation in the movement against Cop City, threatened with up to 35 years in Georgia prisons.
We won’t let them take our family and friends.
The police have murdered a land defender and bulldozed a forest full of life. The state has tried to criminalize our community and isolate our loved ones in brutal jail conditions, while using its repressive apparatus to apply pressure aimed at breaking the movement. However, as movement participants, allies, and supporters together we stand resilient and prepared to fight this repression. We will not be broken!