When Forest Defenders Are Under Attack, People Everywhere Will Fight Back!

Announcement of rapid response demonstrations in solidarity with the ongoing struggle to save the Weelaunee forest if the movement is repressed during the upcoming week of action.

Brave forest defenders will gather in Atlanta next week, from June 24th to July 1st, for the Defend the Atlanta Forest & Stop Cop City Week of Action. The Georgia Bureau of Investigations, alongside the Atlanta Police Department and Georgia State Patrol, have shown that they are more than willing to use extreme force and break laws to intimidate protestors and stifle dissent.

So far, repression has worked to the detriment of the police and the entire Cop City project. For every act of repression against the movement, the movement grows in both its size and its resolve.

The movement to stop Cop City has never been a local struggle. Cop City funders, contractors, and insurers do not limit their operations to Atlanta. Politicians and law enforcement agencies are already discussing using Georgia’s egregious domestic terrorism law as a template for state-sanctioned violence against protestors elsewhere.

What happens in Atlanta will set precedents and possibilities beyond Atlanta city limits. Our solidarity, creativity, and collective strength determines whether those are precedents for our oppression or possibilities for our freedom.

Cities across the country are preparing to call protests in case of any raid, attack, or arrest during the Week of Action.

This is a call for everyone fighting for an inhabitable and joyful world and against the violence of policing:

When forest defenders are under attack, people everywhere: fight back!

Talk to people where you live. Make plans for a rapid response protest in case of any repression toward forest defenders in Atlanta.

Plan the event anywhere there is a Cop City funder or contractor, or wherever else makes sense to protest in your town. Even small demonstrations can be effective.

ALL EYES ON ATLANTA!

The following cities have planned next-day protests in case of repression against forest defenders. Check the social media account listed for your city for updates.

• Phoenix, Arizona