George Hetling
Activist John Robert Mazurek, 30, was arrested February 8 and charged with first degree arson, city officials said in a press conference. Atlanta PD performed three raids on the night of Mazurek’s arrest, and one resident told a local reporter that the police neither showed nor left a warrant during the raid, despite multiple requests. This is a new escalation in the larger campaign of repression against the Stop Cop City movement in Atlanta, Georgia. 61 activists already face racketeering and domestic terrorism charges for their alleged roles in the movement to block the city’s planned training center, popularly known as Cop City.
The raids come a month after the Atlanta Police Department began running a national billboard campaign rewarding $200,000 for information leading to the arrest of anyone responsible for the string of arsons connected to the Stop Cop City movement.
At the Stop Cop City press conference in Atlanta the day after the raid, a journalist asked, “Do you [condemn] the arson that happened against the motorcycles?”
Local organizer Mary Hooks responded, “Hell no. Not at all. And if I’m being honest with you, Atlanta deserves more than that. … Atlanta has its hands in literally murdering Palestinians. You think we give a damn about some equipment? Not at all! Not at all!”
In a joint statement released to the media, Stop Cop Activists made the following remarks: “These raids are an escalation at the federal level and an attack on the movement to disappear dissenters against Cop City. We demand the immediate release of all detained and arrested activists. We will not be intimidated and the community will continue to apply a variety of strategies to oppose the construction of this dangerous facility.”
photo: Atlanta police raid home of alleged activists last year as part of the racketeering round-ups, screenshot from Welcome to Hell World blog
