#tortuguita — Public Fediverse posts
Live and recent posts from across the Fediverse tagged #tortuguita, aggregated by home.social.
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Defendants in Georgia ‘Cop City’ case say they are in limbo as trial delays continue
By R.J. RICO
Updated 12:26 AM EDT, May 12, 2025ATLANTA (AP) — "Single mother Priscilla Grim lost her job. Aspiring writer Julia Dupuis frequently stares at the bedroom ceiling, numb. Geography and environmental studies researcher Hannah Kass is worried about her career prospects after she graduates from her Ph.D. program.
"The three are among 61 defendants accused by Republican Georgia Attorney General Chris Carr of participating in a yearslong racketeering conspiracy to halt the construction of a police and firefighter training facility just outside Atlanta that critics pejoratively call 'Cop City.'
"Their cases are at a standstill, 20 months after being indicted under Georgia’s Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations law, or RICO, which is likely the largest criminal racketeering case ever filed against protesters in U.S. history, experts say.
"Trial for five of the defendants was supposed to start last year but got bogged down in procedural issues. The judge overseeing the case then moved to another court. A new judge has set a status hearing for Wednesday.
"The delays have left people in limbo, facing charges carrying up to 20 years behind bars for what they maintain was #LegitimateProtest, not #DomesticTerrorism. The case also has suppressed a movement that brought together hundreds of #activists to protect a wooded patch of land that ultimately was razed for the recently completed $118 million, 85-acre (34-hectare) project.
"Officials say the project is sorely needed to replace outdated facilities and boost officers’ morale. Opponents say it will be a training ground for a #MilitarizedPolice force and its construction has worsened #environmental damage in a poor, majority-Black area.
"Protests escalated after the fatal 2023 shooting of Manuel Esteban Paez Terán, known as #Tortuguita, who was camping near the site when authorities launched a clearing operation. Officials said they killed Tortuguita, 26, after the activist shot and wounded a trooper from inside a tent.
"A family-commissioned autopsy concluded Tortuguita was killed with their hands in the air, but a prosecutor found the officers’ use of force was 'objectively reasonable.' "
Read more:
https://apnews.com/article/cop-city-rico-charges-61-atlanta-be5ef1ed1951a73870656f61fbbc567b#ACAB #StopCopCityQueens #StopCopCitiesEverywhere #JusticeForTort #USPol #StopCopCity #WeelauneeForest #DefendTheForest #CopCity #SilencingDissent #CiminalizingDissent #MilitarizedPolice
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Reports from the Festivals of Resistance / Day of the Forest Defender
#Crimethinc, 2025-01-20"January 18 is the Day of the Forest Defender, honoring the life of Manuel '#Tortuguita' Terán, who was murdered by Georgia State Troopers two years ago while protesting the construction of Cop City in Atlanta, and everyone else who has given their lives in the fight against those who would render the earth uninhabitable in the course of their pursuit of profit. This year, a call circulated for people to organize festivals of resistance in their communities on the weekend of January 17-19. Here, we share reports from some of these events.
"The situation is grim. Despite acknowledging that Trump represents #fascism, Democrats have nonetheless welcomed the arrival of #despotism, dutifully voting for new legislation targeting immigrants and doing their best to keep protesters out of the streets. #TechCEOs have followed suit, pouring millions of dollars into his inauguration and crowding into St. John’s Church to worship at the feet of their new master.
"#ElonMusk made the #Nazi salute twice from the podium during the inauguration, leaving only just enough plausible deniability to confuse the most naïve. Musk has posted fascist dog whistles on Twitter before, even before he purchased it in order to reintroduce Nazis to the platform, ban anarchists, and promote the fascist agenda.
"From this point forward, nothing should surprise us. The incoming government has made it clear that they intend to inflict as much harm as possible on those who are vulnerable while concentrating as much money as possible in the hands of the ultra-rich. These are the central points of their agenda. Attempting to spread information about their misdeeds in order to provoke popular outrage is a waste of time. From here out, all that matters is developing the capacity to defend each other from their attacks while preparing to go on the offensive as soon as the opportunity presents itself.
"The faces of the #oligarchy looked craven and servile as they lined up at the inauguration to toady to Trump. #Capitalism concentrates power in the hands of the most rapacious, but they can only hold on to power by being completely subservient to its demands.
"Fortunately, not everyone is taking this sitting down. #Anarchists around the country called for 'festivals of resistance' the weekend before the inauguration in order to bring communities together prepare to resist. Here follow reports from a few of these. You can read the original call to organize festivals of resistance here, along with a list of dozens of events around the country."
Read more:
https://crimethinc.com/2025/01/20/reports-from-the-festivals-of-resistance-day-of-the-forest-defender
#FestivalsOfResistance #DayOfTheForestDefender #JusticeForTort #StopCopCity -
HT @UnicornRiot
Parents of #ForestDefender Killed by Police File #CivilRights Lawsuit
By Sean Summers, Unicorn Riot December 20, 2024
"The parents of slain forest defender Manuel ‘#Tortuguita’ Paez Terán filed a civil rights lawsuit Tuesday against three Georgia law enforcement officers they say are most responsible for the death of their child in January 2023."
#JusticeForTort #StopCopCitiesEverywhere
#Decolonize #Resist #CorporateColonialism
#DayOfTheForestDefender #StopCopCity #SmashThePatriarchy
#DefendTheForest #ProtectTheForests #ACAB -
Today across the US, dozens of cities are holding community events, vigils, and memorials for martyred anarchist #Tortuguita, who was killed one year ago defending the Weelaunee forest from the construction of a corporate backed, counter-insurgency training facility, known as Cop City.
#StopCopCity #ATL #JusticeforTort
Check out the list of events here: https://itsgoingdown.org/day-forest-defender-jan-18/
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Dozens indicted on Georgia racketeering charges related to ‘Stop Cop City’ movement appear in court
by Kate Brumback, Nov 7, 2023
ATLANTA (AP) — “Nearly five dozen people indicted on racketeering charges related to protests against a planned police and firefighter training facility near Atlanta appeared in court on Monday as their supporters rallied outside the courthouse.
“Protests against the proposed training center — dubbed “Cop City' by opponents — have been going on for more than two years. Georgia Attorney General Chris Carr obtained a sweeping indictment in August, using the state’s anti-racketeering law to target the #protesters and characterizing them as 'militant #anarchists.'
“Demonstrators and #CivilRights organizations, including the American Civil Liberties Union (#ACLU), have condemned the indictment and accused #Carr, a Republican, of levying heavy-handed charges to try to silence a movement that has galvanized #environmentalists and #antipolice protesters across the country.
“All 61 people indicted were scheduled to be arraigned Monday, that is to have the charges against them formally read in court. Fifty-seven of them appeared, called in small groups before Fulton County Superior Court Judge Kimberly Esmond Adams over a three-hour period, and each waived arraignment.
“Four defendants failed to appear. One was believed to be in France and prosecutors didn’t have a good address for him. One was in federal immigration custody. Another who is not American and who had left the country tried to return twice in recent days to attend the hearing but was denied entry to the country, her lawyer said. A fourth simply didn’t show.
“Most of the people who appeared had not yet surrendered at the Fulton County Jail to be booked on their charges. Some had recently reached agreements with prosecutors on a bond amount and conditions and others were still in the process of doing so.
“Adams told them they had until 10 a.m. Tuesday, 24 hours after the start of the arraignment proceedings, to turn themselves in. If they fail to do so, she warned, a warrant for their arrest could be issued and any bond would be rescinded.
“Adams instructed defense attorneys to provide the attorney general’s office with hard drives by Friday so they can receive copies of evidence in the case, known as discovery. Prosecutors are to finish copying and distributing that evidence to defense attorneys by the end of the year.
“A final plea hearing will be set no later than the end of June, Adams said. She explained to the groups of defendants that if they want to reach a plea agreement with prosecutors they must do it by that date.
“A couple of hundred supporters of the ‘#StopCopCity' effort rallied outside the courthouse in downtown Atlanta on Monday morning singing, chanting and waving signs.“Atlanta Mayor Andre Dickens and other supporters say the 85-acre, $90 million facility would replace inadequate training facilities, and would help address difficulties in hiring and retaining police officers. Opponents have expressed concern that that it could lead to greater police #militarization and that its construction in the #SouthRiverForest will worsen #environmental damage in a poor, majority-Black area.
“Protests against the project, which have at time resulted in violence and vandalism, escalated after the fatal shooting in January of 26-year-old protester Manuel Esteban Paez Terán, known as #Tortuguita. A prosecutor last month said he would not pursue charges against the state troopers who shot Paez Terán, saying he found that their use of deadly force was ‘objectively reasonable.'
“Most of those indicted in August had already been charged over their alleged involvement in the movement. RICO charges carry a sentence of five to 20 years in prison that can be added on top of the penalty for the underlying acts.
“Among the defendants: more than three dozen people who were previously facing domestic terrorism charges in connection to the protests; three leaders of a #BailFund previously accused of money laundering; and three activists previously charged with felony intimidation after authorities said they distributed #flyers calling a state trooper a
'murderer' for his involvement in Paez Terán’s death.“Prosecutors have alleged a conspiracy that includes a wide variety of underlying crimes that range from possessing fire accelerant and throwing Molotov cocktails at police officers to being reimbursed for glue and food for activists who spent months camping in the woods near the construction site.”
#DefendTheForest #ACAB #DefendWeelauneeForest #Fascism #Censorship #ClimateJustice #DirectAction #JusticeForTort #JusticeForTortugita #AtlantaGeorgia #EnvironmentalRacism #StopCopCitiesEverywhere #FreeAllForestDefenders #CriminalizingDissent #SilencingDissent
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Police officers won't face charges in fatal shooting of protester Manuel Teran at Atlanta's '#CopCity'
Six troopers fired shots that resulted in Teran's death in January.
ByMark Osborne and Kiara Alfonseca
October 6, 2023"None of the #Georgia State Police troopers involved in the fatal shooting of Manuel '#Tortuguita' Teran will face charges, according to Stone Mountain Judicial Circuit District Attorney George R. Christian.
"Teran, who used they/them pronouns, was shot and killed by police on Jan. 18 as officers raided campgrounds occupied by environmental demonstrators who had allegedly been camping out for months to protest the development of the Atlanta Public Safety Training Center, dubbed '#CopCity' by critics.
"According to an autopsy of Teran sent to ABC News, they did not have gunpowder residue on their hands. Officials claimed Teran fired the first shot at a state trooper. Officers then responded with gunfire.
"In Friday's announcement that no charges would be filed, Christian wrote that Teran responded to officers firing 'less lethal' pepperball rounds by 'shooting four (4) times his 9 mm pistol through the tent striking and seriously injuring a Georgia State Trooper. Six Troopers returned fire resulting in the death of Teran.'
"'The use of lethal (deadly) force by the Georgia State Patrol was objectively reasonable under the circumstances of this case,' Christian wrote. 'No criminal charges will be brought against the Georgia State Patrol Troopers involved in the shooting of Manuel Perez Teran.'
"Teran had at least 57 gunshot wounds in their body, according to the autopsy, including in the hands, torso, legs and head.
"An independent autopsy from the family found that Teran’s hands were raised during the fatal shooting, however, the DeKalb County autopsy stated, 'There are too many variables with respect to movement of the decedent and the shooters to draw definitive conclusions concerning Mr. Teran's body position.'
"The DeKalb County Medical Examiner's Office had ruled the death a homicide.
"The Georgia Attorney General's Office is conducting its own investigation into the shooting."
#StopCopCity #DefendTheForest #ACAB #DefendWeelauneeForest #Fascism #ClimateJustice #DirectAction #JusticeForTort #JusticeForTortugita #AtlantaGeorgia
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i want to share a couple of revamped WW2 political posters under #CreativeCommons #NonCommercialUse to aid #protest of #CopCity
learn more on my patreon:
https://www.patreon.com/posts/no-cop-city-803932052/
#usPolitics #antifa #StopCopCity #acab #atlanta #WeelauneeForest #ForestDefenders #DefendAtlantaForest #Tortuguita #ManuelTerán
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According to a newly released autopsy report, #Tortuguita , the non-binary activist shot dead by Georgia state police in January 2023, died from at least 57 gunshot wounds.
#copCity #DefundThePolice #LaPoliceAssassine #PigsKillInnocents
https://www.axios.com/2023/04/19/cop-city-atlanta-activist-autopsy
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According to a newly released autopsy report, #Tortuguita , the non-binary activist shot dead by Georgia state police in January 2023, died from at least 57 gunshot wounds.
#copCity #DefundThePolice #LaPoliceAssassine #PigsKillInnocents
https://www.axios.com/2023/04/19/cop-city-atlanta-activist-autopsy
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According to a newly released autopsy report, #Tortuguita , the non-binary activist shot dead by Georgia state police in January 2023, died from at least 57 gunshot wounds.
#copCity #DefundThePolice #LaPoliceAssassine #PigsKillInnocents
https://www.axios.com/2023/04/19/cop-city-atlanta-activist-autopsy
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According to a newly released autopsy report, #Tortuguita , the non-binary activist shot dead by Georgia state police in January 2023, died from at least 57 gunshot wounds.
#copCity #DefundThePolice #LaPoliceAssassine #PigsKillInnocents
https://www.axios.com/2023/04/19/cop-city-atlanta-activist-autopsy
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According to a newly released autopsy report, #Tortuguita , the non-binary activist shot dead by Georgia state police in January 2023, died from at least 57 gunshot wounds.
#copCity #DefundThePolice #LaPoliceAssassine #PigsKillInnocents
https://www.axios.com/2023/04/19/cop-city-atlanta-activist-autopsy
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"The civil rights attorney said the case to date bore similarities to one in which she defended Phoenix-area Black Lives Matter protesters. In that case, all criminal charges against protesters were dropped – including more than 100 felony rioting charges and attempts to tie defendants to what she called a “fake criminal street gang … that does not and has never existed, except as a boogeyman in the state’s head.”
Fallout in the case includes multiple resignations, demotions and even criminal investigations against prosecutors and police, after falsified evidence and other law enforcement abuses were revealed. “I heard all of the same things” at the bond hearing, she said. What happened in Phoenix, she said, “should serve as a warning as to what might happen in Atlanta."
#StopCopCity #Atlanta #DefendtheAtlantaForest #Tortuguita #JusticeforTort
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"What’s indisputable is that police repression has extended into all corners of this movement, amounting to a profoundly undemocratic exertion of state power. From the outset, the voices of the people have been marginalized and subsumed under deference to Atlanta’s police state.
As in the days of brutal repression of the civil rights movement, so too are the levers of state power aligned against the Stop Cop City movement. But there are also reasons for hope. Despite the best efforts of Atlanta authorities to contain the movement, to smear those standing in solidarity as outside agitators, this movement is both intersectional and multilocational.
Beyond the week of action, the battle to stop Cop City continues, in forms ranging from sabotage to legal battles over environmental permitting minutiae. Only time will tell how this movement resolves — whether it succumbs to police repression or whether Cop City will indeed never be built. But it’s been a hell of a fight so far, with the full force of state power brought against the protesters that dare to defy it."
#StopCopCity #Tortuguita #JusticeforTort #Atlanta #AtlantaForest #DefendtheAtlantaForest #Weelaunee #WeelauneeForest #BlackLivesMatter
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Investment fund links to Atlanta police and ‘Cop City’ project revealed
Paul Brown, the CEO of Inspire Brands, whose portfolio includes fast-food franchises #Dunkin’, #Baskin #Robbins and #Arby’s, sits on the board of trustees of the #Atlanta #Police #Foundation (#APF), which is raising $60m from corporate funders to build #CopCity in the Atlanta forest previously earmarked for a public park.
Police foundations are non-profits which raise private money from individual and corporate donors that is funnelled to police departments with little oversight or accountability.
The APF has previously helped Atlanta police fund recruitment drives, surveillance cameras and Swat team equipment.
The police crackdown on community protests against Cop City have led to dozens of charges of #domestic #terrorism and the #police #killing of the environmental #activist Manuel Paez Terán, known as “#Tortuguita”.
Police said Paez Terán shot at them first, but have not produced any body-cam or other video footage of the shooting.
The APF has helped Atlanta become the #most #surveilled city in the US in large part thanks to a program called #Operation #Shield.
The Silicon Valley firm Silver Lake Management, one of the world’s largest tech-focused private equity firms, has invested more than $1bn in #Motorola #Solutions, which designed and implemented the surveillance system for Operation Shield, according to a new report by the Private Equity Stakeholder Project (PESP).
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"The family of slain activist Manuel “Tortuguita” Esteban Paez Terán released the findings of the independent autopsy today that indicates Tortuguita was killed by a Georgia State Patrol (GSP) SWAT team while seated in a “cross-legged, with the left leg partially over the right leg,” and had their hands up, palms facing toward their upper body at the time of their death.
This is particularly notable, as there were gunshot wounds in both of Tortuguita’s hands which would likely show evidence of gunpowder residue had they fired their gun at the GSP trooper. The report notes that gunpowder residue “may have been washed from the body during the first autopsy, but this is very unlikely.”
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Already, like clockwork Marjorie Taylor Greene, fresh from CPAC, where speakers called for the literal “eradication” of transgender people, is tweeting about “ANTIFA” and “Communists,” while the police are again trotting out civil-rights era tropes of “outside agitators.” But people like Jean don’t buy that these attacks will stick like perhaps they once did. “The amount of solidarity is incredible here, the outside agitator tropes are not flying in the forest struggle. From church groups to pre-schools to HBCUs, everyone is enthusiastically embracing that this is not a “local struggle” and are asking people around the country to contribute,” Jean stated. “Along with the action [in Downtown Atlanta] on January 21st, this is a show of emergent movement strength: the numbers, people showing up from around the country, the strong local showing of Atlantans, the ability of a group to cohere and take action…”
#Atlanta #ATL #StopCopCity #CopCity #BlackLivesMatter #Tort #JusticeforTort #Tortuguita
https://itsgoingdown.org/solidarity-incredible-here-atl-cop-city/
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Report via @UnicornRiot that upwards of 1,000 people have now re-taken Weelaunee People's Park and a massive music festival is now underway with food and literature tables.
#StopCopCity #Tortuguita #JusticeforTort #ATL #DefendtheForest
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Actions popped off last week in solidarity with the fight to stop Cop City in #Atlanta - see what all went down here!
#StopCopCity #Tortuguita #JusticeforTort #Tort #DefendttheWeelauneeForest #ATL #BlackLivesMatter
https://itsgoingdown.org/cities-across-the-us-take-part-in-week-of-action-against-cop-city/
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Of fucking course the body cam footage of police murdering #Tortuguita confirms that the injured officer was due to friendly fire.
They think we're stupid, they intentionally lied, pretended the body cam footage didn't exist, and didn't admit that the cops predictably shot each other.
#StopCopCity #DefendAtlantaForest #ACAB #ManuelTeran #Atlanta #Georgia #Anarchism
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There's a vigil tomorrow at 5pm in #Nashville for #ManuelTeran AKA #Tortuguita
Tortuguita was the anarchist protestor killed by cops in #Atlanta this week. Of course the cops claim there is no body cam footage and that they are not to blame.
If you wanna learn a little more, here's a good article about them: https://bittersoutherner.com/feature/2023/little-turtles-war-cop-city-atlanta
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I am helping organize a solidarity action for #Tortuguita in #NewOrleans, dm me if you want to be added to the organizing group
#NOLA #ManuelTeran #Tort #StopCopCity #Defund #ACAB #ATL #Atlanta #SouthAtlanta
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> “The abolitionist mission isn’t done until every prison is empty,” Teran told me. “When there are no more cops, when the land has been given back, that’s when it’s over.” I must’ve shaken my head a little at the grandiosity of this statement because Teran immediately broke into a sheepish smile. “I don’t expect to live to see that day, necessarily. I mean, hope so. But I smoke.”
https://bittersoutherner.com/feature/2023/little-turtles-war-cop-city-atlanta #ManuelTeran #Tortuguita #StopCopCity
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REST IN POWER
#ManuelTeran, aka #Tortuguita or #Tort.