/cop city/civil liberties - In Truthout, on February 8 a multi-agency carried out search warrants on three homes housing suspects seeking evidence associated with the arson of police motorcycles as part of an ongoing investigation associated with resistence to the completion of "Cop City".

The raid took on dehumanizing aspects reflecting the ongoing hostility by law enforcement against Cop City activists.

One resident was told to lie down and crawl toward officers. He was then grabbed by his hair and dragged. Officers continued to shake the resident by his hair until he lost his glasses. Another resident described a similar incident.

In yet another incident, a woman's request to see the search warrant was ignored. During a search the police found a polaraid photo of another suspect and "put it on display in her room." Still another suspect has been detained since the alledged arson incident without charges.

/cop city/civil rights/civil liberties - In The Guardian, George Chidi reported on February 5th that “the Atlanta city council adopted new rules that would allow the referendum process for the public to vote on the “Cop City” project to move forward. The vote came amid protests against the methodology the council adopted for signature matching on referendum petitions, which critics say gives the city a way to block a public vote on the controversial project.”

Organizers calling for a public vote on Cop City had submitted 116,000 signatures ahead of schedule according to an imposed deadline. A key concern of organizers is that signers of the referendum had to be registered voters in Atlanta’s city proper even though those residents most directly affected live outside Atlanta. A judge ruled in their favor but that was not enough.

To date, city leaders have delayed the public right to vote by any means possible which have driven organizers against a wall. At this point state primaries are happening on May 21 and, according to city leaders, construction of Cop City is 70% complete with the expectation that the training center facility will open by the end of the year. So, time is running out and referendum organizers are rightfully suspicious of Atlanta City Council’s further delays due to its rules and methodologies.

And, the city has created unsubstantiated stories in the process. George Chidi wrote,  “The city attributed a $20m increase in construction costs to the protests, though requests made to the Atlanta police foundation for additional details about these costs have gone unanswered.” There are many unanswered questions about legal and other costs associated with denying the right to vote and the actual costs involved with constructing the facility.

In the Intercept, The big chill? - Yes, the theatre of the absurd plagues the Cop City saga in Atlanta and it would be laughable except for the malicious intent that underlies the expansion of weird and often baffling RICO indictments against any and all protesters. Far right interests in the Republican Party have introduce S.B. 395 (Protecting Georgians Act) in order to extend the now contorted meaning of RICO to cover political speech; to be enforced by legal machinations that transform what would ordinarily be misdemeanors, e.g. loitering.

(Another potentially related concern about free speech that is worth tracking is Georgia’s HB30 which offers the government’s definition of antisemitism.) sgc