Atlanta Police, ATF, and FBI Raid Three Homes in Southeast Atlanta

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: February 8, 2024

Atlanta Police, ATF, and FBI Raid Three Homes in Southeast Atlanta, One Arrested and Others Detained in Continued Crackdown Against Cop City Protesters

Police have charged one individual with first degree arson while at least one other person remains in custody. APD chief threatened additional arrests of activists in the coming weeks. A Stop Cop City rally and press conference is planned for 5 p.m. today outside the APF Headquarters

ATLANTA, GA — On February 8, between 6 and 7 a.m., the Atlanta Police Department, FBI, and ATF conducted a multi-agency raid, with Georgia State Patrol also present, at three homes in southeast Atlanta. Search warrants were executed at two residences in the Lakewood area, and another in Starlight Heights. Police arrested at least one local outspoken opponent of Cop City and have charged them with first degree arson. At least one activist remains detained at an unknown location.

Police seized a number of items, including laptops, iPhones, “Defend the Atlanta Forest” stickers, posters, and flyers, a passport, video cameras and tapes, among other things.

Police claimed in a press conference earlier today that the raids and arrest were in response to vandalism that has occurred over the past three months, including a fire outside of a Fulton County police precinct in July. Police refused to present the arrest warrant to residents at the home of the person who was arrested and charged.

A resident who was at their home while it was being raided said that police dug up a nude photograph of them that was hidden privately under their bed, and then propped it up on display for others to see during the raid. Residents also said that police left a trail of destruction in their homes behind them and that the person arrested was removed from their home in full-body chains.

Joint Statement from Stop Cop City Activists: “These raids are an escalation at the federal level and an attack on the movement to disappear dissenters against Cop City. We demand the immediate release of all detained and arrested activists. We will not be intimidated and the community will continue to apply a variety of strategies to oppose the construction of this dangerous facility.”

This multi-agency raid is the latest development in a wide array of repressive strategies against the movement to Stop Cop City. From the police murder of a 26 year-old anarchist forest defender, to the state’s sweeping RICO indictment against 61 people, to the city council passing voter suppression legislation to make Cop City referendum requirements more restrictive—the state is reacting to all forms of community opposition against Cop City with force, repression, and criminalization.

The SWAT raids come days after the Georgia Legislature passed Senate Bill 63, which requires cash bail for more than 30 new offenses and makes it illegal for nonprofits and charitable groups to bail out more than three people per year. The bill targets activist bail funds and social movements. The bill has been condemned by the Southern Center for Human Rights and will face legal challenges by the American Civil Liberties Union of Georgia. 

“The resistance to Atlanta’s militarized police state is strong and continues to grow,” says Kamau Franklin, head of Community Movement Builders. “The police and jails must be stopped. They continue to murder people like Deacon Johnny Hollman and Lashawn Thompson without any accountability. The community stands in solidarity with all affected by the police repression against the movement to Stop Cop City.”

Activists have announced a 5 p.m. press conference and rally today at the headquarters of the Atlanta Police Foundation at 191 Peachtree St. NE to provide additional details on the raids.

For preliminary reporting on the raids, go to: https://www.mainlinezine.com/atlanta-police-fbi-raids-one-arrested-arson/

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