The Stop Cop City is known as Defend the Atlanta Forest and this has been the decentralized movement which focused on Atlanta, Georgia in the opposition to the Cop City. The facility was announced in 2021 which was referred to as the Partnership between Atlanta Police Foundation and the City of Atlanta. The Stop Cop City Referendum will repeal the ordinance which was adopted by the Atlanta City Council which further authorized the leasing of 381 acres of forest land. Why Stop Cop City Referendum Matters is to cancel the lease. Now the individuals who need some more facts on the Program shall have a look at the post given below.
Stop Cop City Referendum
Stop Cop City or the Defend the Atlanta Forest is the decentralized movement which has focused on Atlanta, Georgia in opposition to the Atlanta Public Safety Training Center or the Cop City. The facility was announced in 2021 as the partnership among the Atlanta Police Foundation and the City of Atlanta which was completed in the year 2025. The Stop Cop City Movement was started which was a protest by the activists who are opposing the construction of the Public Safety Training Centre. The SCC has gained a lot of international attention after the protester was killed by police during the raid in January 2023. The opponents are just concerned that the destruction of the South River Forest and the environmental injustice impact the economic disparities and the ecological response to climate change in poor and Black neighborhoods.
The state charged several protestors with domestic terrorism and stated that 61 people were charged for criminal conspiracy in 2023. The protest even drew participants from all over the United States and many of them said that they are not from Georgia. The petition for public referendum on the project also became a part of the lawsuit and none of the criminal suits were resolved by April 2025 at the time when the facility opened.

What Is a Stop Cop City Referendum?
The Atlanta City Council has adopted new rules which allowed the referendum process for the public to vote on the Cop City project to move forward. The vote came after the protest against the methodology which the council has adopted for matching the signature on referendum petitions. The construction of the non Atlanta Public Safety Training Center began last spring after hearings at activists criticized the expense. The activists have sabotaged construction equipment and have disrupted the development at site.
Why Stop Cop City Referendum Matters?
- Dozens of cop cities have been built and are under construction since the George Floyd uprising but Atlanta’s one will be the flagship.
- It shall be the largest and the most public facing police urban warfare training center in the USA.
- In the fight to prevent construction, anti racist and opponents of militarized policing along with the environmentalists have been speaking of climate impact which could destroy the green space of Atlanta and the residents who see Cop City as the part of gentrification.
- The very first version of the petition was rejected on the technical basis and when it was submitted again, it was accepted.
- The District judge on the second objection stated that it would get adjudicated if the referendum was to make the ballot.
- The City Council has then adopted a signature matching procedure to cope with the problems.
FAQs On Stop Cop City Referendum
What is meant by the Stop Cop City?
The Stop Cop City Movement was started which was a protest by the activists who are opposing the construction of the Public Safety Training Centre.
What has Atlanta City adopted now?
The Atlanta City Council has adopted new rules allowing the referendum process for the public to vote on the Cop City project to move forward.
Why does the Stop Cop City Referendum matter?
The Stop Cop City Referendum matters as the public has been backing for the construction of the training center.















