Banner Drop in Asheville, NC in Solidarity with Fight Against ‘Cop City’ in Atlanta

Report on banner drop in Asheville, NC in solidarity with ongoing struggle against ‘Cop City’ in Atlanta, GA. Submitted anonymously. For background on the fight to stop Cop City, go here.

This morning in Asheville, NC, activists hung a banner over the I-240 bypass to protest the destruction of the Atlanta Forest by the proposed Cop City project. The banner reads: “Fuck Cop City, From ATL to AVL, Defend Our Forests.”

Recent raids on the resistance encampment in the Atlanta forest led to the arrest of tree sitters and the violent destruction of ground support camps. Sitters were pepper sprayed by law enforcement and deprived of water and other basic necessities while held in detention.

In response to this predictable and horrific display of state violence, Asheville stands in solidarity with Atlantians fighting against the expansion of police infrastructure. Beyond destroying the hundreds of acres of forest that serve as a natural carbon sink and temperature modulator for one of America’s hottest cities, the construction of cop city will serve to develop and accentuate the power of the police to harass, surveil, and brutalize communities.

Cop City represents far more than a highly localized battle between concerned citizens and the Atlanta Police Foundation. Undoubtedly, law enforcement agencies from across the Southeast, including the Asheville Police Department, will train at this facility, extending their capacity to intimidate and incarcerate communities while funding for basic public services continues to deteriorate. Additionally, Asheville’s own struggle to defend the Pisgah National Forest against expansive logging, along with ongoing resistance to gentrification and displacement, mirrors and echoes the movement in Atlanta to protect the ecological and social foundations of our home.

Gentrification, deforestation, and the meteoric expansion of police infrastructure all represent the domination of the racist, colonial and extractive institutions over and against our wild and flourishing communities. We refuse to accept the destruction of the worlds we love. May it never be built.