Atlanta police shot and killed 26-year-old Nonbinary activist Tortuguita Wednesday, January 18, leading to vigils, protests, and riots in the following days. According to the Georgia Bureau of Investigation, Tortuguita opened fire "without warning" and wounded a state trooper before the police shot them down, but activists and journalists who were on the scene have questioned that version of events. Protestors and skeptics are currently demanding an independent investigation into the murder. According to the GBI, the incident was not recorded on body cameras.
Tortuguita was part of a movement called "Stop Cop City," which is protesting the Atlanta Police Foundation's $90 million, 381-acre police training facility set to be constructed in the Weelaunee Forest. The Public Safety Training Center, nicknamed "Cop City" by its opponents, is designed to train police in urban crowd control. Its plans include a bomb detonation range, several shooting ranges, and a replica city to run drills to train for urban warfare.
Cop City would be the largest police facility in the United States after its construction. Among public outcry over the nature of the facility, environmentalists have decried its construction in the heart of old growth forest, saying cutting down that many trees would be an environmental disaster.
The protestors had built a community of forest defenders in the Weelaunee over the course of the last year. Tortuguita's death occurred during a raid by police to clear protestor tents from the forest. 25 campsites were removed. Seven individuals were arrested and charged with domestic terrorism and criminal trespass, with other charges pending.
On social media, the activist was lauded by friends and comrades as being kind, calm, and positive. After their death, members of the community submitted memories of them for the vigil, some of which were posted @stopcopcity on Instagram.
"I remember Tortuguita as one of the softest and most generous people in the woods," reads one post. "[A] perpetually positive presence, ready with a smile and anything else they could offer to brighten your day."
"They died as they lived," said a statement by activist Jonah Mundy in another post, "fighting for a better world and defending the forest from destruction in the name of a fascist militarized police force."
Roughly 300 people gathered for Tortuguita's vigil, Saturday, January 21, they were remembered for their work as a medic and as an extremely caring individual. Violent protest broke out an hour into the peaceful demonstration. The ensuing property damage included damage to a police vehicle. Police made six protests.
"Violence and unlawful destruction of property are not acts of protest," tweeted Georgia Governor Brian Kemp in the wake of the riot. "They are crimes that will not be tolerated in Georgia and will be prosecuted fully."
David Peisner, a reporter for The Bitter Southerner who had spoken with Tortuguita when covering the protest in December of 2022, noted the emphasis they had put on nonviolent actions.
In the article Little Turtle's War, published January 20, Peisner quotes Tortuguita as saying, "We win through nonviolence. We're not going to beat them at violence. But we can beat them in public opinion, in the courts, even." Peisner's account and the accounts of other protestors seem to directly contradict the narrative painted by the Atlanta Police Foundation.
Vigils for Tortuguita took place in Atlanta, Asheville, Durham, Olympia, Detroit, Los Angeles, Chicago, New York, and Portland, among other cities. The "Justice For Tortuguita" movement has gained some momentum online. So far, there is no word of an independent investigation into their death.