Judge Rules In Favor Of 'Stop Cop City' Petition Organizers: Attorneys

ATLANTA, GA — U.S. District Judge Mark Cohen ruled Thursday Atlanta city officials violated the First Amendment when they prohibited non-Atlanta residents from collecting signatures for a "Stop Cop City" petition.

The Cop City Vote group supports the repeal of a city ordinance that approved the lease for the Atlanta Public Safety Training Center, according to civil rights law firm, Spears & Filipovits. The law firm represented Cop City Vote along with First Amendment expert Attorney Gerry Weber in the case.

The city clerk must reissue petition forms that remove language stating a person must be an Atlanta resident to collect signatures, according to the attorneys.

Cohen also ordered the city to restart the 60-day petition period for receiving signatures, according to the attorneys. The new period will begin from the date the city clerk provides the corrected petition forms.

All valid signatures that have been gathered thus far will be counted, the attorneys said.

Petition organizers are supporting a referendum that would allow Atlanta voters to decide the fate of the public safety training center, according to a July 17 Associated Press report.

Attorneys for the City of Atlanta called the petition "futile" and "invalid," the report said, citing a recent court filing.

Those in opposition of the training center have deemed the East Atlanta site "Cop City." The $90 million training facility is being built to benefit Atlanta police officers and firefighters.

The Atlanta Police Foundation will oversee the facility, near Constitution and Key roads.

"Today, a very clear message was sent to Mayor Andre Dickens and all opposing direct democracy that their attempts to suppress free speech are not welcome in Georgia," Plaintiff Keyanna Jones said in a news release issued by Spears & Filipovits.

The training center has been at the forefront of a battle between law enforcement and protesters who are against the building of the center for environmental concerns. Atlanta city officials have promised to protect the forest in the building of the center.

A downtown protest commenced days after the shooting of a Georgia State Patrol trooper and the killing of the person suspected of shooting the trooper in a Jan. 18 protest against the construction of the training center near Constitution Road.

Three people were charged in late May for money laundering in connection with financial crimes at the future training center site. The GBI told Patch at the time no additional information was available on the financial crimes.

A woman was arrested in late June and accused of throwing spoiled meat at Atlanta police officers during a protest at a West Peachtree Street bank. Fox 5 Atlanta reported the bank loaned money to the Atlanta Police Foundation.

Protesters were accused on July 5 of attacking Atlanta Police facilities and setting police vehicles on fire. The protesters were also accused of setting the police department's Memorial Drive facility on fire.

Police said the protesters have damaged construction equipment owned by training center contractors.

The Atlanta City Council voted on June 6 with an 11-4 vote to approve construction for the public safety training center, the Atlanta Journal Constitution previously reported. Taxpayers in the City of Atlanta will allocate $67 million toward the center, according to the outlet.

Information about the public safety facility is available here.

To learn about Cop City Vote, visit its website here.

Patch has reached out to the City of Atlanta for comment.