FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: March 11, 2023
22 Detained, One Arrested in Police Raid at Lakewood Environmental Arts Foundation
Press conference at Brownwood Park at Noon Eastern to draw attention to repressive police tactics
ATLANTA, GA — A press conference will be held today at Brownwood Park in response to a raid earlier this morning in connection with the #StopCopCity movement. Twenty-two people were detained by Atlanta Police Department and Homeland Security during a raid at the site of the Lakewood Environmental Arts Foundation (LEAF), a community resource that has distributed fresh food to the local community for the last six years. During the Week of Action, the LEAF has also served as a medic hub and a place for people to camp outside of the forest—with explicit approval from the property owner.
The agencies entered the house with AR15 assault rifles, aimed guns at those who were detained, and refused to provide an arrest warrant, saying it was offsite. One person has been arrested for an old traffic ticket, highlighting the desperation of the state to find any reason to make arrests in order to repress the movement to #StopCopCity. This tactic has been employed over and over again, including several instances of mass arrests at peaceful protests, for walking in the street, and exploitation of the no-hands driver law in order to arrest police observers.
As opposition to the Cop City project continues to rapidly grow both locally and nationally, political repression has followed. We will continue to resist these unjust actions by the state and will be holding a press conference today, featuring Reverend Keyanna Jones, Kamau Franklin of Community Movement Builders, Jordan Harmon (Mvskoke) of the Indigenous Enviromental Network, Tortuguita’s mother Belkis Terán, and Marlon Kautz of Atlanta Solidarity Fund. The press conference will follow the Weelaunee Coalition Youth Rally at Brownwood Park, 607 Brownwood Ave SE, Atlanta, GA 30316.
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