Democratic Sen. Raphael Warnock has urged Atlanta's mayor to be more transparent in how city officials handle a petition drive led by opponents of a proposed police and firefighter training center. Warnock's letter Friday comes after weeks of calls from "Stop Cop City" activists who were furious that the state's top Democrats had stayed largely silent over the city's plan to adopt a signature-matching verification process.
A federal judge overseeing the case involving Atlanta activists' referendum effort against a police and firefighter training facility has accused city officials of moving the goalposts on the signature-gathering campaign.
Officials from the City of Atlanta have refused to verify tens of thousands of signatures submitted by activists who have been trying for two years to stop the construction of a police and firefighter training center. The city clerk's office on Monday cited a recent court order that it said bars it from processing the paperwork.
Sixty-one people have been indicted in Georgia on racketeering charges following a long-running state investigation into protests against an Atlanta-area proposed police and firefighter training facility that critics call "Cop City."
Atlanta's police chief is urging the public to come forward with information about those who set police motorcycles on fire last month in protest over the planned construction of a public safety training center that critics call "Cop City."
Hundreds of canvassers have spread out across Atlanta in hopes of convincing more than 70,000 residents to sign onto a petition that activists believe is their best chance to halt the planned construction of a huge police and firefighter training center.
A federal judge has significantly extended the deadline for Atlanta organizers who have been trying to gather more than 70,000 signatures to force a vote on the construction of a police and firefighter training center that critics call "Cop City."
For the past month, activists with the "Stop Cop City" movement have been trying to gather the signatures of more than 70,000 registered Atlanta voters to force the referendum. But attorneys for the city argued that the massive canvassing effort is far too late.
Atlanta Police Chief Darin Schierbaum says a fire destroyed eight Atlanta police motorcycles and was one of several recent acts of vandalism by a group aiming to stop construction of a new public safety training center. Schierbaum spoke at a news conference Wednesday with Atlanta Mayor Andre Dickens.
Opponents of Atlanta's proposed police and firefighter training center are suing the city. In a lawsuit filed Tuesday, they say the city clerk is delaying a petition drive to force a voter referendum on whether construction should proceed.
The Atlanta City Council is meeting at this hour to hear public comment and then vote on $31 million for the controversial public training center known to opponents as “Cop City.”
A judge has granted bond for three activists involved in supporting the protest against a planned police and fire training center in Atlanta that opponents have derisively dubbed "Cop City."
