Protesters Branded Domestic TERRORISTS, Reporters Arrested, Status Coup Headed To Cop City, Atlanta

The Latest About Stop Cop City. And more Live at 5pm ET

"It was a murder—we're dealing w/ [police] that labeled protesters terrorists while they were sitting in trees minding their business," said activist and Matthew Johnson, Interim Executive Director of Beloved Commune (an organizing group that’s been on the ground at the Stop Cop Cities Protests in Atlanta, Georgia), on police the Atlanta police killing a Cop City protester.

“They were pepper sprayed. Had rubber bullets fired at them and did not respond whatsoever, yet they were still labeled terrorists…It’s quite likely that the claim that an officer was fired at first is specious” Johnson said.

Breaking Live at 5 pm: Jordan will be covering the increasing tensions at the #StopCopCity protests. Tina Diseree Berg will be ON-THE-GROUND at #StopCopCity in Atlanta THIS WEEKEND.

Protesters have been arrested and labeled as terrorists, and one was killed by police this week in Atlanta's largest remaining urban forest.

FBI now surrounds the Atlanta forest area, joined by the Georgia Bureau of Investigation, Atlanta Police, Georgia State Patrol, and other agencies fortifying the area. After killing a protester, beloved activist Manuel Teran, police arrested seven protesters for "domestic terrorism." Police have also been ARRESTING JOURNALISTS covering the story.

Protesters have been encamped to oppose the $90 million police training center with explosive testing areas, firing ranges, a Blackhawk helipad, & a MOCK CITY.

Not only are protesters standing against the massive militarization of police and sprawling facility, but they are also signaling the environmental abuses in Weelaunee Forest, siting the land as stolen Native American lands of the Muscogee tribe. The 85 acres used to hold a prison farm w/ arsenic-poisoned water (EPA-mandated clean up ONLY in white neighborhoods).

Johnson notes a long history of exploitation including the EPA water violations and poisoning along the South River Forest, “They [EPA] didn't have to clean up the water right here because it wasn't worth the money. So when we're looking at Flint Michigan, when we're looking at Jackson Mississippi, this is how this happened systematically…There are so many people that have been coming in towards this movement because it just hits on so many levels.”

You can watch activist Matthew Johnson’s full interview with Status Coup here at the top of the stream:

#StopCopCity protesters have been demonstrating for over a year citing the wastefulness of the proposed $90 million police training center, the environmental damage of cutting down forest trees, and racism. Follow Status Coup THIS WEEKEND for Tina Diseree Berg’s ON-THE-GROUND coverage live in Atlanta, Georgia.