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‘Treehouse Antifa’ calls for ‘Night of Rage’ against cops after shooting leaves militant dead, officer injured

January 19, 2023 | | Print Article

Radical Antifa-affiliated leftists are calling for a violent “Night of Rage” on Jan. 20 after police shot and killed a militant near “Cop City” on Wednesday where “Treehouse Antifa” is occupying land that is earmarked for an Atlanta Police Department Training Facility.

(Video Credit: FOX 5 Atlanta)

The unidentified officer was wounded in the incident but is in stable condition, according to police.

A “Night of Rage” is being called for by the Twitter account “Scenes from the Atlanta Forest.” It is set to take place on Friday to enact “reciprocal violence to be done to the police and their allies.” The members have been dubbed “Treehouse Antifa.”

“Consider this a call for reciprocal violence to be done to the police and their allies. On Friday, January 20th, wherever you are, you are invited to participate in a night of rage in order to honor the memory of our fallen comrade,” the group incited on Twitter.

The radical account is asserting that it is part of “Defend the Atlanta Forest,” which is one of a number of groups that are protesting the $90 million police and firefighter training center that will be built in that area.

In a statement given to Fox News Digital, the “Defenders of the Forest” asserted that it is “a broad, diverse, decentralized movement to defend the Atlanta forest.” They claimed they are only a “news aggregator for the movement” and “not affiliated” with “Scenes from the Atlanta Forest.”

“The police will kill you if given the chance. Now is the time for bravery. Take care of each other. Be dangerous together,” the group urged in another tweet.

https://twitter.com/scenesatl/status/1615789236346568741

https://twitter.com/scenesatl/status/1615815340109307909

A Georgia State Patrol trooper, wearing a bulletproof vest, was shot in the abdomen during the altercation. It happened as police attempted to clear an encampment located near the site where the $90 million Atlanta Police Department (APD) facility will be constructed.

The Georgia Bureau of Investigation (GBI) stated that the sweep of the area was conducted as “an operation to identify people who are trespassing and committing other crimes on the property.”

“At about 9:00 a.m. today, as law enforcement was moving through the property, officers located a man inside a tent in the woods. Officers gave verbal commands to the man who did not comply and shot a Georgia State Patrol Trooper,” GBI reported via a statement. “Other law enforcement officers returned fire, hitting the man.”

“Law enforcement evacuated the Trooper to a safe area. The man died on scene,” the statement added.

“The injured Georgia State Patrol Trooper was taken to a local hospital where he underwent surgery. A handgun and shell casings were located at the scene. The GBI is working the officer-involved shooting and the investigation is still active and ongoing,” the bureau reported.

GBI director Michael Register stated that the shooting was in self-defense after the officer was fired upon. The deceased individual evidently opened fire “without warning” on the trooper.

“An individual, without warning, shot a Georgia State Patrol trooper,” Register told reporters. “Other law enforcement personnel returned fire in self-defense and evacuated the trooper to a safe area. The individual who fired upon law enforcement and shot the trooper was killed in the exchange of gunfire.”

Four others were arrested by police in the matter.

“They’re endangering the community and the citizens around this area,” Register commented, according to FOX 5 Atlanta.

“Marty, the girls, and I are praying for this brave Trooper and public safety officers across all law enforcement agencies today,” Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp tweeted Wednesday morning. “As our thoughts remain with him and his family, our resolve also remains steadfast and strong to see criminals brought to justice.”

“Defend the Atlanta Forest” held a vigil on Wednesday evening at the Little Five Points Square to “memorialize the forest defender” who was “murdered by the police.”

“Today the police shot and killed a forest defender below the canopy of our beloved forest,” the group wrote. “No one can bring our friend back to us. An innocent life has been taken and the machines continue.”

“We will not go quietly into this dark night,” they added.

“Police killed a forest defender today, someone who loved the forest, someone who fought to protect the earth & its inhabitants,” the group railed in a tweet. “This is why we organize to stop Cop City. And we will. In honor of their life, and the lives of everyone killed and imprisoned by the police.”

“The Atlanta Police Department seeks to turn 300 acres of forest into a tactical training compound featuring a mock city. This project was announced to the shock of community members who had been given no opportunity to weigh in on the proposal. The entire process has been shadier than the forest itself,” Defend the Atlanta Forest’s website charged.

They are protesting the new “Cop City” contending it will “hyper-militarize law enforcement” and “will serve as a national model of police militarization and budgetary bloat.”

Atlanta anarchists reportedly targeted Brasfield & Gorrie, the general contractor for the police facility, and spray-painted graffiti on its buildings last week.

“B&G stop cop city,” the message read. “We have the numbers.”

In December, police arrested five people at the APD site location. They were charged with domestic terrorism.

Those arrested included Francis Carroll, age 22, of Maine, Nicholas Olson, age 25, of Nebraska, Serena Hertel, age 25, of California, Leonardo Vioselle, age 20, of Georgia, and Arieon Robinson, age 22, of Wisconsin.

(DeKalb County Sheriff’s Office/Georgia Bureau of Investigation)

“After police cleared the area of concern, which included makeshift treehouses, they found explosive devices, gasoline, and road flares,” the GBI noted in its statement on Jan. 14.

DeKalb County District Attorney Sherry Boston reported that those who were arrested had attacked firefighters and police officers with rocks and weapons as the officers removed barricades blocking entrances to the site, according to FOX 5 Atlanta.

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