THE FOREST IN THE CITY “Ifyou don't read anything else related to the stopcopeity cause, read this!!!” Twitter user @Dejabooharr “One of the most useful tools for other movements to come ut ofthe fight to Stop Cop Gity..Thank you so so much to the people who wrote this.” —Micah Herskind (Writer) “The Defend the Atlanta forest movement reveals again the intersection between policing and ecocdal climate crisis.” —Alexander Dunlap (University of Oslo) ‘This text was originally published on 02.22.2023. Find it online with links and citations at crimethinc.com|ForestintheCity ‘This text follows “The City in the Forest” published on 04.11.2022, Find it online at crimethinc.com/CityintheForest Copy and distribute freely. INTRODUCTION ‘THE STAKES OF THE FIGHT Our society is at a crisis point. Decades of escalating economic pres- sure have created rampant inequality and desperation. Rather than ad- dressing the root causes of these, politicians across the political spec- trum continue channeling more and more money to police, relying on them to suppress unrest by force alone. This dependance has enabled police departments and their allies to consume a vast amount of public resources. Meanwhile, driven by the same economic pressures, cata- strophic climate change is generating hurricanes, forest fires, droughts, and widespread ecological collapse. In this context, starting in April 2021, a bold movement set out to defend a forest in Atlanta, Georgia, where local politicians and corpo- rate profiteers want to build a police training compound and a sound- stage for the film industry. The training compound, known as Cop City, would be the largest police training facility in the United States. It would devastate the South River Forest, also known as Weelaunee Forest in honor of the Muscogee Creek people who lived there until they were deported in the Trail of Tears. ‘The movement to defend the Weelaunee Forest has drawn to- gether a wide range of groups and strategies. Legal defense organiza- tions like the South River Forest Coalition, which is bringing a lawsuit against the Dekalb County government, work parallel to groups like the ‘SRY Campaign, an anonymous collective of researchers who publicize the home and office addresses of those who seck to destroy the for- est. While abolitionists and radical environmentalists have established encampments and tree houses in the forest, a network of pre-schools and parents has built community gardens and hosted public outreach events. Still others have organized raves and cultural events in the for- est, connecting the most ambitious artists with the irrepressible spirit 5 of the movement. Among those who wish to see Cop City built are the Atlanta Police Foundation (APF), mayor Andre Dickens, and the various corporations that stand to profit on the development. At the same time, thanks to a backroom deal with the city government, real estate mogul and film industry executive Ryan Millsap is preparing to destroy a public park ‘on an adjacent land parcel within the same forest. Behind the scenes, Cop City has the support of the Atfanta Com- mittee for Progress, a business association involving the region's most powerful industrial and bureaucratic cliques. Alex Taylor, the former chairman, is also the acting president of Cox Enterprises, which owns various Atlanta media outlets and is among the leading funders of the Atlanta Police Foundation, In order to create a veneer of democratic process and local support, the APF and their supporters have contrived the Community Stakeholders Advisory Committee (CSAC), comprised ‘of members of the Police Foundation and a few residents of Southwest Dekalb When one of the initial members of CSAC spoke out against the project, she was removed from her position. ‘These are the forces that are facing off over the forest. On one side, some of the wealthiest and most institutionally powerful figures in the state of Georgia. On the other, a network of local activists and their friends. During the George Floyd rebellion of 2020, for the first time, it became possible to speak of police abolition as a viable proposal about how to break the cycle of violence that poverty and police militarization im- pose on our communities. Yet every effort to “defund the police” viain- stitutional means reached a dead end. Under Joe Biden, the Democratic Party has doubled down on unconditional support for police. Ifthere is any hope of limiting the continuous expansion of police infrastructure and state violence, grassroots movements and direct action will have to show the way. ‘The same goes douible for climate change. At this point, practically everyone agrees that humanity is on a collision course with ecological 6 disaster, but institutional efforts to address the situation have accom- plished precious little. The movement to defend the forest in Atlanta offers a glimpse of what it would take to defend our communities from the unbridled profiteering and repression that are forcing this catastro- phe on all of us. ‘The Atlanta forest has become a flashpoint in both of these fights. With stakes this high, it is easy to see why people on both sides are dedicating so much energy to this conflict. After two years of simmering conflict, the situation is escalating, Starting in December, the police began bringing terrorism charges against almost every activist they arrest, citing being in the forest and posting on social media as sufficient grounds. On January 18, Georgia State Patrol Officers killed Manuel Tern, known in the forest as Tor- ‘tuguita, Tortuguita had been living under siege for almost a year as a beloved part of the small community dwelling in the encampments. While the authorities seek to crush the movement by any means, solidarity efforts are springing up across the world, Forest defenders in Atlanta are planning another Week of Action from March 4 to 11, invit- ing everyone to join them. TAKING THE INITIATIVE At the end of January 2022, as described in The City in the Forest, it seemed almost impossible to slow the pace of the preparations for con- struction that Reeves+Young and their subcontractor Long Engineer- ing were carrying out. Neither small group actions nor larger protests had succeeded in delaying the soil boring and sampling at the Old At- lanta Prison Farm. The segments of the movement that had previously sought to sway City Council were in disarray, while activists oriented towards direct action were still seeking the leverage they needed. ‘On March 1, 2022, an anonymous group poured bleach into the engines of five vehicles belonging to Long Engineering. According to ‘an online statement, this action was intended to impose consequences for their participation in “pre-construction” efforts in the forest. On March 19, six machines owned by Reeves+Young, including two exca- vators, were reportedly destroyed by saboteurs in the Flowery Branch suburb, On April 9, a website appeared listing the names and home ad- dresses of executives in Reeves+ Young, This came just a few days after independent researchers discovered that Brasfield & Gorrie had been contracted to build Cop City. It is rare for more than one general con- tractor to oversee projects lke this. What was happening behind closed doors was confusing; the only thing that was clear was that the forest destroyers were moving forward and nothing was stopping them. And then, unexpectedly and without explanation, Reeves+Young dropped the contract. Seeking to control the narrative, the Police Foun- dation claimed that the work Reeves+Young had been contracted for ‘was complete and they were no longer on the project. At the time, how- ever, Reeves+Young had hardly done any work. They had sent a rep- resentative to escort a subcontractor into the forest a few times, but the surveyor flags and stakes that they had placed had been removed overnight. ‘They probably did not withdraw as a consequence of the accumu lation of actions, nor as the result of any particular action. More likely, it was the feeling that things could go in any direction, that the future ofthe project could not be predicted, nor the costs reliably calculated, ‘The entire movement interpreted this as a win, With this small victory, a new period of resistance opened up. ‘THE SPRING WAS OURS A frenzy of activity followed. Mass meetings, canvassing efforts, me- dia interviews, and sabotage all increased in frequency and focus. ‘Many movements and organizers rely on repression or fear to mobi- lize supporters; activists defending the forest in Atlanta have sought to maintain a positive and proactive attitude throughout, highlighting confidence and goals even in the face of setbacks, aiming to foster am- bitious, solution-oriented mentalities and proposals. At the end of April, police began scoping out the forest, making half-hearted incursions into the Old Atlanta Prison Farm North Gate ‘on a few occasions. Sometimes these went unnoticed or ignored; occa- sionally, activists repelled them with stones. Nobody was sure how the situation would develop for those camping in the forest. ‘Organizers announced a third Week of Action for the second week ‘of May 2022. It seemed likely to bring many more people into the move- ‘ment than the previous weeks of action. In the lead-up, local organizers began to promote a summit with the Muscogee (Creek) communities in Oklahoma. Building on the Stomp Dance ceremony of November 12021, this was a chance to hear from elders, historians, and activists. A local radio station came to broadcast the presentations live on the air. Several preschools attended the summit along with students, faculty, and parents. ‘Tying together different narratives, ways of understanding, and formsof knowledge has beena strength of the movement from the begin- ning. Rather than combining efforts in the name of efficiency, different groups perform the same tasks, reproducing similar infrastructures, ef- forts,andevents. Sometimes, thisisintentional, sometimesnot. Thishas created resiliency in the movement, ensuring that power is distributed 10 across many people and projects rather than aggregating in a few hands. When one group burns out, faces repression, loses steam, or slows down, other sections of the movement pick up the slack. The different attitudes, aesthetics, and styles of organizing that comprise this movement are incommensurable, sometimes even mutually unin- telligible, but this has made the movement stronger, like the proverbial many-headed hydra, THIRD WEEK OF ACTION (MAY 2022) ‘The third Week of Action marked the threshold between one phase and another—no less than when the Atlanta City Council had passed the Cop City ordinance at an earlier decisive moment in fall 2021, ‘Starting on May 8, 2022, hundreds of people poured into the for- est: anarchists, environmentali s, abolitionists, and other direct ac- tion-oriented groups bringing tents, hammocks, sleeping bags, and food. Some arrived prepared to operate a field kitchen. Small encamp- ments emerged everywhere, some adopting names for themselves. Clusters of tents and canopies appeared in a patchwork on both sides of the South River—some organized by affinity group, others by chance. It is difficult to take a head count in the forest, as the opponents of the movement have probably also noticed. The kitchen crews estimated that a minimum of 200 people were sleeping in the forest at night; on some days, considerably more people joined the occupation. ‘The forest remained family-friendly; kids were present in the for- est every day of the week, receiving guided tours, making art, or direct- ing their own time under the care of community members. But this was not your standard protest encampment. Many of the participants wore balaclavas. They arrived prepared to take direct action against the Po- lice Foundation and its affiliates, aiming to shift the balance of power. ‘On the first day of the Week of Action, May 9, forest defenders awoke to the sound of falling trees. At the behest of Ryan Millsap, a small construction crew and a group of Dekalb County Sheriffs work- ing as private security were making their way into the tree line from the Radio Control (“RC”) club on the southeast side of Intrenchment Creek Park. A number of determined people responded immediately, " repelling the bulldozers with a few stones before linking arms and chanting “move back” in unison at the police officers further afield. One ‘courageous person approached an officer and explained to him that the construction crew was engaging in illegal activity. Later, Dekalb County issued a “Stop Work” order, ostensibly following a flurry of calls by law- yers and neighborhood groups tipping them off about the illegal work. In the following days, amid assemblies, workshops, shared meals, ‘mushroom walks, and informal socializing, those gathered for the week of action endeavored to make the Weelaunee Forest into a cop-free zone. Whenever officers approached the area, venturing into the park- ing lot or parking their vehicles nearby, activists confronted them, In some instances, several dozen people descended from multiple sides ofthe forest, rushing police vehicles, slashing tires, smashing windows, throwing rocks. No one was arrested or injured in these confrontations. They did not disproportionately shape the atmosphere in the forest, either, ‘There was plenty of space in which anyone with objections to or con- cerns about this kind of action could be confident that they would not bbe caught in a confrontation. The third Week of Action created a space in which people of many different temperaments and strategies could coexist HELL IS EMPTY, ALL THE DEVILS ARE HERE At the same time, actions targeting the bureaucrats and executives overseeing the destruction of the forest began in earnest. These actions highlighted the forces responsible for Cop City. They are driven by ab- stractions, victims of a competitive system pitting humanity against all living things. But they are also human beings. On May 9, several dozen people marched to the suburban home of Shepherd Long, the CEO of Long Engineering, a subsidiary of Atlas ‘Technical Consultants and a subcontractor of Brasfield & Gorrie. This was the first of several such actions during the Third Week of Action. (On May 11, a small crowd gathered outside the suburban home of Keith Johnson, regional President of Brasfield & Gorrie, Protesters scaled the fence and banged on drums early in the morning, chanting 12 “Drop the contract!” Johnson is invested with the authority to make decisions for Brasfield & Gorrie—and he is compensated handsomely for this responsibility, judging by the size and location of his multi- house estate. Brasfield & Gorrie is one of the largest construction general con- tractors in the Southeast. They are based out of Birmingham, Alabama, but they have offices throughout the Southeast, including one in the northwest periphery of Atlanta, next to the Atlanta Braves stadium, in a district known as “The Battery.” This part of the city, a pseudo-neigh- borhood recently invented by developers, offers a farcical imitation of urban life. Fast food restaurants, Iuxury condominiums, corporate hotels, and gas stations fill the area, punctuated by parking lots and storage units. There had never been a protest there, not even in 2020 during the George Floyd rebellion On May 12, around 8o people in hoodies and camouflage descend- ced on the Brasfield & Gorrie regional office in The Battery. Demonstra- tors chanted “Stop Cop City” while some in the crowd painted graf- fiti and shot fireworks at the facade of the building. After breaching the lawn of the facility, a few determined people began throwing paint balloons and stones at the building, cracking the plate glass windows. Others continued lobbing fireworks. After several minutes, the crowd dispersed into the surrounding streets. Within a few minutes, police cars encircled the area, pulling over cars and snatching pedestrians off the street. Some people were de- tained in nearby strip malls and gas stations. In the hours that followed, ‘Cobb County police harassed and intimidated anyone wearing black or “alternative” clothing. By the end of the day, police had arrested five people they claim participated in the action against Brasfield & Gor- rie, All were charged with felonies including “Rioting” and “Criminal Damage to Property.” At the time, this was the most serious repression the movement had faced. News coverage of the demonstration spread ‘within left-wing “infospheres” and algorithmically constructed “echo chambers.” In the press release that followed, Brasfield & Gorrie con- firmed for the first time what activists had already known: they were participating in the construction of Cop ‘The following morning, in the very early hours, several people in 2B white coveralls vandalized the Brasfield & Gorrie corporate headquar- ters in Birmingham, Alabama. Video released by the company showed the group painting slogans, throwing rocks, and using blunt objects to smash glass doors and windows. News of this action reached the en- campment in Atlanta many hours later, when an online claim of re- sponsibility was read aloud to a large crowd around a campfire—off- setting the demoralization some may have felt after the arrests at the Atlanta office THEY DON’T UNDERSTAND WHO WE ARE ‘The situation developing in the forest was uncontrollable—and the government knew it. In light of the vandalism, news coverage and inter- net commentary opposed to the movement began to conjure an image of militancy out of a Hollywood movie. According to this false narra- tive, the movement was comprised of hardline extremists from other parts ofthe country. Looking ata beautiful, rambunctious cultural zone ‘teeming with creativity and mutual support, the government described only terror and chaos. In painting this picture, opponents of the move- ‘ment hoped to prepare the public to support a crackdown. Rather than reinforcing this caricature of militancy and thus con- tributing indirectly to the repressive strategy of the local government, the events of May 14—the final day of the third Week of Action—direct- ly contradicted it. This was no ruse: this is in fact a popular movement with widespread cultural and civic support, and the end of the Week of Action was a good time to showcase that. In the early afternoon, over 100 residents marched in East Atlan- ta Village, chiefly pre-school children with their parents and teachers. Many children took the megaphone to express themselves. They com- prehended the political stakes of the struggle more clearly than its crit- ics: they did not want the forest to be destroyed because they were wor- ried about their futures; they did not want the police to be given control over a large portion of the city because they didn’t want to see more violence-producing infrastructure. There were many photographs of this march, but local media outlets did not circulate them, and likely rnone appear in the Bureau of Investigations slide-show presentations 14 about the movement. Similarly, some segments of the movement have inadvertently participated in the censorship of the schoolchildren by focusing only on militant actions or the progress of the lawsuits, to the detriment of a coherent analysis of the movement as a whole. {A few hours after this march, around 4 pm, another group of over 200 people met in Freedom Park near Little s Points. With many par- ticipants holding small branches and plants, reminiscent of the sol- diers at the conclusion of Shakespeare's Macbeth, they set off behind banners and drums into the surrounding neighborhoods. Aside from blocking traffic and setting off a few fireworks, those gathered seemed ‘more interested in communicating with the public then engaging in direct action or clashing with police. The atmosphere was jubilant, and countless motorists and local residents stopped to applaud. After an hour, the crowd began dispersing in Inman Park, off Euclid Avenue Helicopters were circling overhead. Police cruisers were racing up and down all of the surrounding streets. Were the police foolhardy enough to fall into the trap? After the protest dispersed, frustrated cops sprinted from their ve haicles, pouring into the park and shopping district from every side. This ‘was not the fire-breathing mob they had convinced themselves would be laying siege to the area. Still, they were not able to alter their plans. ‘The cultural composition of the protesters matched the bohemian aes- theties of the majority of the pedestrians, residents, and shoppers the area, rendering it impossible to distinguish between supporters of the movement and people leaving the second-hand clothing shops or health food stores on nearby streets. News cameras filmed neighbors screaming at officers from their lawns. Multiple people were tackled and beaten by officers for their alleged participation in the protest. One journalist was tazed. In the end, 17 people were arrested and charged ‘with “pedestrian in a roadway.” From one perspective, the protest was a disaster. The crowd was not ready to engage the police ina physical confrontation. On the other hand, it altered the media narrative and the public perception of the movement in favor of the protesters. Itis rare to see such a shift shortly after masked activists smash windows and vandalize a corporate head- quarters. Instead of a mad clique of violent extremists, the movement 15 could be seen for what it really was: a popular struggle facing reckless hostility from local authorities. The real art of subversion cannot be reduced to illegal activity or physical resistance. Rather, its a question of turning systems of control upside down, cultivating a situation in which self-directed activity can flourish contagiously. Within a few days, all the charges against the 17 arrestees had been dropped. The accused now stand to take home thousands of dollars apiece in restitution for their wrongful arrests. This protest was not planned to produce that outcome, but if it had been, it would have been astute. THEY TRIED TO BREAK US: POST-WEEK RAID. After the third Week of Action, many expected police to seek revenge. ‘The easiest way to respond would be to attack the encampments in the forest, Although the media coverage that Atlanta police had received for their excesses in Little 5 Points had shifted public attitudes, it prob- ably did not substantially alter the eagerness of law enforcement agen- ies to use force. Since today’s media landscape tends to show consum- cers only what they already believe, itis likely that law enforcement and their allies only saw coverage confirming their own perspectives. ‘On May 17, the frustration and bitterness of the police, which had accumulated for a week, was unleashed on those living in the Old At- lanta Prison Farm. In the early morning, dozens of police vehicles, he- licopters, and drones encircled the forest. Atlanta Police Department, Dekalb County Sheriffs, the Department of Homeland Security, De- partment of Natural Resources, the Atlanta Bomb Squad, the Joint Ter- rorism Task Force, and possibly other agencies mobilized their forces and prepared to raid. Police entered the forest around 10 am from Key Road. Most of- ficers were wearing helmets or other forms of protective gear; some sported camouflage and masks. The agents and officers involved in the operation immediately set about destroying food, shelters, and protest infrastructure. One officer used a sledgehammer to smash a generator, Others worked with arborists to destroy unused tree houses or sat be- neath the occupied tree sits threatening to do violence to the activists 16 above them. Meanwhile, other activists engaged in proportional responses to the police operation. An abandoned truck caught fire, as did barri- cades made of wood and unused tires. Small groups and individuals ‘engaged in hit-and-run actions. While the police employed state-of- the-art equipment, armor, and weaponry, forest defenders used rudi- mentary structures, ragged hoodies, sticks, stones, and fireworks. On ‘more than one occasion, forest defenders used Molotov cocktails to prevent further police incursions, presumably seeking to prevent the invaders from doing serious harm to the defenseless activists who were ‘occupying the trees. Those devices were only used in clearings where the results could be easily predicted, Pro-police advocates spent many months making a fuss about a few improvised bottles of flammable li ‘uid. Surely, the police would not prefer to face the flash balls, tear gas, pepper spray, heat-seeking helicopters, and Kg units that they have rou- tinely used against forest defenders. After several hours, police began to withdraw from the area. On the other side ofthe forest, Dekalb County police officers entered Intrench- ment Creek Park and arrested the first eight people they encountered, charging them all with “Tresspassing” ina park in broad daylight. These parkgoers may or may not have been participants in the movement, but they almost certainly were not the same people engaged in defense at the Prison Farm on the other side of the river, nearly a mile away. ‘was not the point, however. These arrests were an es- sential component of the policing strategy. To this day, news reports claim “eight protesters were arrested after activists threw rocks and Molotov cocktails at police,” strongly implying that the arrestees were themselves charged with taking such actions. In fact, no one engaged in combative protest tactics was arrested in the course of the raid. In the end, despite the damage to camp infrastructure, the raid was a failure. Preci FULL-COURT PRESS Without the defensive actions that had taken place in the forest, in- cluding rock-throwing and other forms of direct action, it is possible that those living in tree houses or tents would have suffered significant 7 injuries, or that the forest itself would have fallen into the hands of the police. Other interventions took place that day, as well. While the confrontation in the forest was still ongoing, a network of activists and “organizations sent out a press release announcing a press conference at pm, ‘The police operation ended upon the arrival of movement sup- porters and corporate media at the edge of the forest. The speakers denounced the police operation, but they did not confine themselves to commenting on repression. In front of the news cameras, they fo- cused the assembled crowd on the need for direct resistance, on the stakes ofthe struggle against climate chaos, racism, gentrification, and colonialism. Footage of the statements played on television news in the metro area, which is usually the sole domain of reactionaries and police spokespeople—who were mostly silent about the movement for sever- al months afterwards. ‘This was a direct inversion of the usual media landscape. Opting for silence and obscurity did not help the police, just as it has rarely helped subversive movements in the past. SPEAKING FOR OURSELVES Nowadays, itis unusual for anarchists or other aspiring revolutionaries to address the corporate media. Over the past several decades, radi- cals have developed many theories about the role of corporate news 18 “organizations, the effects of mass communication on the popular imag- ination, and the consequences for movements that consent to be rep- resented. Informed by these analyses, many people have developed al- ternative and underground media projects including websites, journals, zines, and podcasts to circumvent censorship and address audiences ‘on a more horizontal basis. Though mass struggles have erupted year after year, those on the front lines have usually opted not to try to ex- plain themselves to the hundreds of millions of people who leam about the world chiefly through the corporate radio, newspapers, magazines, and televisions. ‘The experience of revolt itself can transform the consciousness of those who participate in it, shifting their vantage point on reality. But actions are not enough when a society is as filled with false narratives a ours is. As long as the most ambitious and courageous participants in these struggles are not able to address people on their own behalf, bureaucrats, liberals, reformers, and academics have a free hand to mis- represent them. Often, this means portraying them as foot soldiers for other groups who are willing to expl according to their own politics. Hoping to break this pattern, the movement to defend the forest haas taken on addressing corporate media as one of its core activities. Some people know this movement as Defend the Atlanta Forest, others as Stop Cop City. Both of these slogans describe more or less the same constellation of groups, tactics, goals, and woodlands, but they speak to slightly different demographics. Understood as a whole, the ‘movement operates a sophisticated social media infrastructure includ- ing Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, Mastodon, TikTok, and Telegram, as well as websites, media kits, and publicly-listed emails. These plat- forms ensure that the movement can communicate with those who al- ready support it and perhaps with those immediately adjacent to them. ‘When journalists contact one of the movement's platforms, activ- {sts coordinate to ensure that someone within the movement can en- gage with them. It is usually proponents of radical social change who assume this responsibility, including abolitionists, Black autonomists, anarchists, or other aspiring revolutionaries. Rather than presenting themselves as leaders or spokespeople, activists answer journalists’ the situation to mass audiences 19 questions, give them walking tours, offer them information packets, provide them with research, and supply them with insider perspectives, leads, images, quotes, and narratives suitable for their assignments. ‘This work is unpaid and largely invisible to media consumers. All of the most accessible sources and platforms associated with the movement have refused to denounce direct action or radical poli- tics. While different platforms present their own perspectives in a va- riety of different tones, none of them have veered so far away from the others as to offer the news outlets rifts to exploit. During interviews and press conferences, commenters from the movement speak in clear and concise sentences. Ideally, every single sentence should stand on its own asa soundbite, so that itis impossible for an editor to mutilate them. When journalists ask questions about complicated or unexpect- ced topics, activists do not hesitate to say simply “I don't know about that right now, but maybe we can follow up later.” Journalists do not expect everyone to know everything, but they ‘want other people to do as much of their jobs for them as possible. As long as participants in the movement are willing to hold their hands throughout the process, writers or photographers will often offer them sympathetic coverage. If radicals do not take on this time-consuming work, liberal organizations will take it up in pursuit of their own agen- das, If the stories are not coherent or interesting or timely enough, news agencies will go with pro-police rhetoric or else invent false sto- ries from whole cloth. Because corporate media coverage is the primary means by which the authorities prepare popular opinion to accept the repression of protesters and poor people, it can be dangerous not to intervene in it, Movements should never gratuitously portray themselves as more powerful or destructive than they actually are; itis much better to be “underestimated than to give your adversaries an opportunity to mobi- lize others against you. Likewise, they should not miss any opportunity to humanize the participants and frame the narrative themselves, At the same time, doing so involves a host of challenges. It can be tempting, for instance, for media spokespeople to wa- ter down their messaging so that it appeals to the broadest possible audience. However, this will not prepare audiences to understand the 20 tactics or priorities of the movement, nor the stakes for which they are fighting. The most important thing is not to generate favorable cover- age so much as to structure the popular perception of the movement, setting the terms of debate. If participants in combative movements are unwilling to appear in the press under their legal names or at least with their faces visible for fear of state and vigilante violence, corporate outlets will usually not ‘work with them. The risks are real enough; indeed, even liberal leaders who denounce radical tactics may still be targeted by far-right trolls and police who associate them with a fierce movement. Fortunately, 2ist century social media outlets have given grassroots activists some leverage against this form of corporate censorship by breaking down some barriers to mass communication. If editors fear that they will iiss a chance to generate revenue by refusing to ease their policies regarding anonymity, they will sometimes make exceptions, even plat- forming balaclava-clad demonstrators if the latter can credibly present themselves as participants in powerful movements. More often than not, however, news outlets will simply move on to covering other sto- ries, Ambitious movements should seek to maintain a full-spectrum ‘media interface. They should be prepared to work off the record with sympathetic journalists and documentary filmmakers, to operate round-the-clock social media strategies, to have some participants available who are willing to show their faces, others who are willing to air their voices, and more who are willing to answer written interviews. For the sake of reciprocity, anti-capitalist, abolitionist, and anarchist groups should not needlessly criticize more moderate groups. Some might object that all of this energy is better invested in oth- cer tasks. Surely, there are more pressing issues than the way that the ‘movement is perceived by those who are not even taking part in it. Often, it is career-oriented opportunists who end up handling media operations. This leaves front-line participants at the margins of public attention, rendering it almost inevitable that they will have to invest countless hours and sleepless nights struggling to unmask or outma- neuver self-defeating and divisive reformist perspectives. In the end, it can be more time-efficient to start out with a proper media strategy a than to play catch-up late in the game In the movement to defend the forest, activists in local and na- tional press openly support direct action, encourage diverse participa- tion, and advocate for radical social change in clear language, without hyperbole. In this case, it is the careerists who are left complaining about “imbalanced” coverage. When journalists ask leading questions, attempting to goad activists into denouncing each other, this is almost always rejected outright. ‘There have been exceptions. One participant stupefyingly de- nounced the movement as “more disappointing than Cop City itself” — surely music to the ears of the APF. Such critics often frame politics via spatial metaphors, describing coherent identities and boundaries between inside and outside. Rather than contributing freely in field of ‘open play, some rush to associate themselves with or dissociate them- selves from specific tendencies or perceived factions, while others ‘watch from the sidelines, passing judgment or waiting for instructions. ‘The urge to denounce the struggle seems to grip some people es- pecially tightly during moments of brutal repression. Some people even posted cynical “I told you so” criticisms after the killing of Tortuguita. At the same time, these people do not hesitate to associate themselves with the movement when it provides them social capital. Despite indi- vvidual smear campaigns like these, however, corporate media and law enforcement have failed to foster rival factions to pit against one an- other. 2 If movements cannot tolerate differences among their partici- pants, they must be able to address them internally, directly or through ‘mediators. If that is not possible, the conflicting tendencies or groups should ignore each other. Clarity about differences is important, but drawn-out conflicts between rival camps almost always benefit the au- thorities most ofall. The more di isions in a movement, the more em- boldened the authorities will be to target the most effective currents ‘within it; when rivals post on social media about each other's errors or vulnerabilities, this can assist the authorities in strategizing or building a narrative to justify repression, Often such conflicts needlessly polar- ize entire movements, as everyone is compelled to take sides; many ideologies justify this kind of behavior, to everyone's misfortune. Un- fortunately, contemporary social media platforms often incentivize this sort of conduct. MOMENTUM BREEDS RESISTANCE Across the country, at least twenty acts of direct action followed the po- lice raid of May 2022, With morale high after the third Week of Action, ‘movement participants outside Atlanta were determined to preserve the initiative. Cultivating winning strategies is not simply a question of using the right tactics, nor of accumulating actions against a target. Rather, the strategy of targeting the logistics of the development on a decentralized basis has succeeded because it is empowering: it has en- abled many people to participate in the movement on their own terms. At the same time, the whirlwind of different events and tactics has con- fused the Police Foundation, their bureaucratic supporters, and their contractors. Morale is a crucial factor in struggle. Those who believe that they ‘will win are more likely to win. They are more likely to respond urgently toattacks, to be prepared to make sacrifices, to confront problems rath- cer than avoiding them. Oddly, in US-based autonomous movements, ‘many of the most intelligent participants often embrace ¢ the movements they participate in and the ideas they espouse. In doing so, they shrug off the responsibility to formulate effective plans, to test new hypotheses, to foster strong and diverse movements. Pessimism jcism about 23, and ironic detachment serve to excuse them from convincing people, ‘working well with others, or carrying out courageous deeds, At demonstrations, press conferences, and assemblies, in written statements, participants in the movement to defend the forest regular- ly exhibit an attitude of confidence. Stating that they intend to win this fight is not arrogant—it is a decision driven by real conviction. That conviction emerges from something greater than individual will. THE TREE PEOPLE Several activists had established tree houses (“tree sits”) in the forest beginning on January 19, 2022. This was one of several interventions uring a difficult period for the movement. At that time, Reeves+Young ‘was still the general contractor for the Police Foundation. Their sub- contractor, Long Engineering, was conducting surveying efforts and soil sampling excursions and activists were confused about how to stop them, Four months later, in May 2022, the situation had changed com- pletely ‘Coming out of the third Week of Action, movement groups dedi- cated to on-site resistance needed to innovate their form of struggle. If the news media continued broadcasting footage of hooded people throwing Molotov cocktails, that could embolden the police to utilize levels of force that few were prepared to resist. The tree sits made it possible to reframe the narrative. At least half a dozen treehouses were constructed on the Old At- lanta Prison Farm and a section of Intrenchment Creek Park in late May 2022. The residents and architects gave them names and decorat- ced them according to their tastes; some tree houses co-existed with ad- jJacent ground camps. In the weeks following the raid, activists living in these tree houses drafted statements, gave interviews to the press, and took photographs documenting their determination. By June, the ma- Jority of news coverage—including in national press such as The New Yorker—had shifted to an almost anthropological interest in the exotic, romantic tree sitters. ‘The strategy of those who were seeking to destroy the forest also changed, though this took longer. At first, it did not seem clear to the 24 authorities that the raid of May 17 had failed. This only became evident when contractors with Long Engineering entered the forest near Con- stitution and Old Constitution Road on June 2. The construction crew arrived with a piece of tree felling machinery, but without sufficient po- lice detail; about ten activists easily repelled them. Aside from yelling and waving their arms, a few of these forest defenders tossed firecrack- crs in the direction of the work crews in order to get their attention. ‘Work was canceled for the day. For the next six months, no work took place inside the perimeter of the forest without considerable police protection. NEW OPENINGS: ‘This was the beginning of a spiral of paranoia for the police agencies. On June 6, 2022, a convoy of police officers accompanied a work crew on Key Road. Workers with Boyette Brothers Construction Rental were knocking down trees at the side of the road. This was intended to be a part of the pre-construction phase of development that was meant to include the erection of an 8-foot security fence. Protesters approached the forest destroyers unarmed. Blowing whistles and waving their arms, forest defenders sought to enter the vicinity of work crews in a fashion likely to induce them to halt work. Without hesitating, police officers