Today is the day the Atlanta City Council is scheduled to vote to approve $30 million for the new police training center which opponents have dubbed “cop city.” Since this is their last chance to stop it, the opponents are going all out. That means showing up in numbers to offer a seemingly endless number of public comments denouncing the plan. The vote was supposed to take place at 1 pm but protesters have been haranguing the city council for about 8 hours.

More than 350 people signed up to give remarks during a public comment period ahead of the vote.

In the first few hours, the vast majority of the testimonies were from people against the facility. Many said the center would not make the city safer but would perpetuate military-style policing and encourage use of force.

The legislative body voted in favor of amending its agenda to allow for more people who missed the sign-up period to speak.

They showed up a few hours before the start of the meeting and chanted in the atrium of the building.

We’re over two hours from the start of the meeting, and this is already the crowd that’s formed, with chants of stop cop city and viva viva Tortuguita breaking out — and a ton of cops just walked in to join those already here. pic.twitter.com/RydAVjDsnU

— #StopCopCity (@micahinATL) June 5, 2023

Once the comments began it was just every left-wing agitator in the Atlanta area repeating the same talking points. Here’s a member of the Atlanta Democratic Socialists. Instead of investing in police training he wants to end crime by eliminating poverty. That should be easy.

The best way to stop crime is by eliminating poverty and investing in our communities – not building a massive, unprecedented Cop City!

Invest in affordable housing, healthcare, education, public transit, green space and things the people of Atlanta actually need! #StopCopCity pic.twitter.com/Nq6rlABurk

— Atlanta DSA 🌹🍑 (@atldemsoc) June 5, 2023

This woman has started an enemies list.

Woman says anyone who votes in support of Atlanta's Cop City "will be an enemy of the black community." pic.twitter.com/WfsOkDMqas

— The Post Millennial (@TPostMillennial) June 5, 2023

People in the room and online were excited when an EMT got up to criticize the plan. He was identified as a member of the DSA’s Marxist Unity Group.

"That's an ass backwards approach to public safety!"
MUG comrade @CliffConnolly speaks against Cop City in Atlanta and brings down the house. (1/2) #StopCopCity pic.twitter.com/7idae5omhf

— Marxist Unity Group (@MarxistUnityDSA) June 5, 2023

They’ve already promised that even if they lose, the movement will go on.

They told us that we lost in September 2021 when they voted to approve the lease. Here we are two years later and the #StopCopCity movement is global and only growing. Never believe the false promise of inevitability!

— #StopCopCity (@micahinATL) June 5, 2023

Whatever happens tomorrow, we will win.

Tomorrow is about determining if that victory comes this week or not.

Rest assured: the movement determines its own destiny, we do not rely on City Council or any representatives to fight on our behalf.

— Defend the Atlanta Forest (@defendATLforest) June 4, 2023

This guy makes it pretty clear that they’re just going through the motions now but one way or another they plan to stop this.

City Council is not going to listen to us. They are not our friends. We’re not stupid. I’m not sure what’s going to happen with the vote, but I can assure you — Cop City will not be built”

One of many to flood ATL City Hall to #StopCopCity pic.twitter.com/jgnQKW4Jrk

— ChuckModi (@ChuckModi1) June 5, 2023

What does this mean exactly? It means that once legal avenues fail, they will resort to the illegal ones they were using before, i.e. Molotov cocktails, trespassing, arson and taking shots at police. Here’s one last speaker who made it clear that the only choice the members of the board had was to resign, be voted out or to “be removed violently.” “Tyrannical entities must be demolished by any means necessary,” he said.

Everyone needs to hear these words by Josh Cass (sp?) on #CopCity pic.twitter.com/joQEHzhen0

— 🌙jenna♏️ (@CumboyBebop) June 5, 2023

If a conservative parent had said this at a school board meeting, you can bet it would be front page news locally if not nationally. As it is, I wonder if anyone else will mention it at all.

So we’ll have to see how long this will drag on tonight and whether or not this will work. As I write this, they are voting on taking a 15 minute break. Here’s the full 8 1/2 hours of testimony so far.

Update: Some of the late night speakers are pretty wild. Scroll forward to the little drummer boy who sings a song about his time in the woods. And a bit later another socialist gets up and tries to speak in place of someone else. That’s not allowed under the rules but she just starts screaming and making demands. There is a week’s worth of entertainment in that clip above.

Hadn’t seen this clip before. They are chanting, “If you build it, we will burn it.” Again, I’m guessing this will not end up on the evening news or in the morning newspapers.

Video: Hundreds spent their day at Atlanta City Hall to demand City Council vote 'No' on a measure to fund the notorious 'Cop City' training center, which is tied to a murder scandal.

Over 350 signed up to speak with many others reportedly denied access to the hearing. pic.twitter.com/iWFFbXuczN

— UNICORN RIOT 🦄 https://linktr.ee/unicornriot (@UR_Ninja) June 6, 2023