Cop City

The Muscogee peoples inhabited the area of South River Forest until most of community was forcibly removed to Indian Territory (now Oklahoma) by the federal government in the 1830s during the Trail of Tears.[9] Their name for this land was "Weelaunee," translatable as "brown water [place]."[10] Before logging of the land after their displacement, the forest was dominated by an Oak-Hickory forest community. The Muscogee's relationship with the forest provided for human needs: acorn flour for food and hickory wood for toolmaking amongst other uses.[11]

The site in 2013

The site was initially purchased in 1863 by the City of Atlanta for use as a cemetery during the American Civil War, but was never used for that purpose.[8] The land was purchased by the federal government in 1917 to be used as a prisoner-of-war camp, and used as the Atlanta Prison Farm from 1920 until 1995.[8] After being vacated the building was used to illegally dump tires, and was damaged by serious fires in 2009 and 2017.[8]

In 2021, Atlanta's Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms, accompanied by Atlanta Police Foundation's CEO, said the site had been selected to house a training center as it was deemed the only suitable location available to the city.[12] She had earlier endorsed the use of the site in Spring of 2021.[12] Pre-construction site clearing started in May 2022.[13]

January 2023 protests of the construction

Since 2021,[7] the site has been the subject of public gatherings and protests. Community events including skill shares, guided hikes, and musical performances have been held.[14][15] Five protestors were arrested in December 2022, and twenty-three protestors were arrested in March 2023, all charged with domestic terrorism.[16][17] In January 2023, 26-year-old[7] protestor Manuel Esteban Paez Teran was fatally shot by police.[3] According to a lawyer working on behalf of Teran's mother, an independent autopsy revealed "Both Manuel's left and right hands show exit wounds in both palms. The autopsy further reveals that Manuel was most probably in a seated position, cross-legged when killed."[18]

On March 5, 2023 protestors threw large rocks, bricks, Molotov cocktails, and fireworks at police officers, and destroyed various construction vehicles.[4][2] 35 people were detained, and 23 people were arrested and charged with domestic terrorism. Of the arrestees, one was from France, one was from Canada, and two were residents of Georgia.[2][17][19] It was later reported that one of those 23 was a lawyer for the Southern Poverty Law Center who had only been there for observation. Because of this, the lawyer was freed on a $5,000 bond. None of the other 22 were offered bond.[20]