In Atlanta, city officials have “refused to process thousands of signatures on a petition aimed at stopping the construction of a police training facility on the city’s outskirts.” According to an ABC News report, the petition to stop the construction of an Atlanta Police Department training center, which has acquired the name “Cop City,” was submitted on Monday by a group comprised of what people described as “far-left activists.”
The activists claim to have accumulated at least 116,000 signatures from Atlanta residents. But, as reported, “officials pointed to a recent court order that forbids them from going through with the official verification process due to the petition’s organizers missing an August 21st deadline.” Judicial rulings came into conflict regarding the verification process of the signatures. A federal judge had extended the deadline to September. Then, on September 1, a federal appellate court ordered to halt the enforcement of the previous federal court ruling which created the deadline extension.
At the center of the controversy is the under-construction “Atlanta Public Safety Training Center, which has been dubbed “Cop City” by its critics.” The construction site has been the target of numerous riots and coordinated attacks by far-left domestic terrorist groups such as Antifa and Black Lives Matter, which has led to many arrests. Earlier this year, one such riot ultimately led to a rioter opening fire on the police, only to be gunned down in response.
The anti-police coalition, the Vote to Stop Cop City Coalition, released a statement following the city’s decision condemning the mayor and city workers. Arguing that democracy was under threat by the Atlanta government, reporting on the coalition’s statement condemning the city government stated, in part: “This is yet another disgraceful push by the city to stonewall democracy, showing that Mayor (Andre) Dickens and the City of Atlanta fear the power of their constituents.” The anti-Cop City group further stated: “The City was notified on Thursday of our intention to submit, yet was too cowardly to release any response, or even respond to our email, until after we arrived.”
The city is awaiting yet another federal court decision to opine on the legitimacy of the anti-Cop City petition. An Atlanta city attorney said that the city is “simply waiting for a decision from the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, which will determine whether or not the deadline extension was legal.”
“The city is not in a position, does not have discretion, to choose to accept the petitions today, at least not to start the 50-day (verification) clock,” said attorney Robert Ashe.
Last week, Fulton County officials indicted over 60 rioters on RICO charges over their coordinated out-of-state efforts to attack the site.