It Could Happen Here - On the Ground at Stop Cop City, Part 2: Remembering Tortuguita

Episode Date: February 14, 2023

Friends, loved ones, and comrades of Tortuguita share memories and stories of them. The Friday after the police killing, a vigil for Tort is held at Weelaunee People's Park. https://stopcop.city/memories-of-tort/ Music by the Narcissist Cookbook and Propaganda.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

You should probably keep your lights on for Nocturnal Tales from the Shadowbride. Join me, Danny Trejo, and step into the flames of fright. An anthology podcast of modern-day horror stories inspired by the most terrifying legends and lore of Latin America. Listen to Nocturnal on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. On Thanksgiving Day, 1999, five-year-old Cuban boy

Elian Gonzalez was found off the coast of Florida. And the question was, should the boy go back to his father in Cuba? Mr. Gonzalez wanted to go home and he wanted to take his son with him. Or stay with his relatives in Miami. Imagine that your mother died trying to get you to freedom. Listen to Chess Peace, the Elian Gonzalez story on the iHeartRadio app,

Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. or wherever you get your podcasts. But hurry, submissions close on December 8th. Hey, you've been doing all that talking. It's time to get rewarded for it. Submit your podcast today at iHeart.com slash podcast awards. That's iHeart.com slash podcast awards. A lot of things have changed in the woods since I visited last year. The Entrenchment Creek Park trailhead at Wolani People's Park is now basically a massive mud pit. The trees cut down and all the grass gone. Sidewalks and bike paths have all been turned into rubble.

As we talked about in the last episode, the police have been increasingly destructive during their more and more frequent raids on the forest. In the past year, the cops have demolished dozens of treehouses and targeted protesters with escalatory tactics. The last 13 people who have been arrested near the forest have all been charged with domestic terrorism for their mere association with the Stop Cop City movement. As hard as the cops are making it to continue being in the woods, there is still something undeniably special about being in community in the forest, or else people wouldn't be risking life and legal consequences. Living in the woods for me was like a dream. I came to the woods because I was homeless and unemployed and was actually living in different woods by myself. And tort actually came to the woods for similar reasons.

Tort lost their housing in Tallahassee and decided to give this place a try as a place to live. In the forest, there was always a, you know, over time just developed like, you know, people built coffee shops and, like, a kitchen that people used and places for people to just, like, hang out and do shit at. And that continued the whole time. They never stopped. People never stopped building. They never stopped making life out there as comfortable and as welcoming and as a community-based as possible. That's really the best thing I feel like I could speak to on it, is that no matter what

was going on, people were always working to make the forest as welcoming of a space to as many people as possible as they could. The night of the December 13th police raid, Tortuguita went back to the camp in Wolani People's Park to start rebuilding after police tore down the encampments and protest infrastructure just hours prior. I've never experienced such emotional and material security as I have living in the Wolani Forest because there are a community of people that are dedicated to taking care of each other and making sure that we all have our needs met. And that was something that Tort and I did for each other often, making sure that we had enough water and food and rides to places. It's really a wonderful place to

live. And I've also deepened my relationship to the earth. Being there, like living with the same trees for over a year is a really profound experience. And also it's a really stressful place and people are always butting heads in really interesting ways. But we're committed to remaining in relationship with each other. That's part of the magic too, is that if you get into a fight with someone at camp, you don't just, you know, like move to a different apartment and stop talking to them. Like they're still around and they're still a comrade. So we're committed to each other in a way that's rare to find in this society. Here is Cricket talking about the type of support

everyone has for each other in the movement and how tort really embodied that. I think one of the things I've seen in my experience at the movement is just the tremendous amount of care that everyone has for one another. You don't have to know one another. We don't have to be on a legal name basis. And we still fight for one another. We still protect one another. We still try to save one another. And that is something I saw tort embody regularly. And I'm grateful to everyone who has helped keep me safe. And I always, yeah, I'm always trying to keep everyone else safe in any capacity that I can.

So we've done a lot of safety trainings. Something that TORT was a really big part of was medic trainings, making sure that people have access to life-saving techniques and skills that are often kept away from really vulnerable folks. So that is something we've been trying to contribute and that we're trying to continue now that TORTA is no longer with us. We were supposed to meet yesterday to put together a curriculum of marginalized, vulnerable people who face gun violence, both from the state and from right-wing neo-Nazi fascists, you name it. And we'll be continuing that work in their name. you name it. And we'll be continuing that work in their name.

When spending time in the Wolani forest, and even for the many peripheral aspects of the movement, people will choose a forest name. It's like a nickname that helps hide your legal identity, Enorme de Plume. Many chose Tortuguita, which is Spanish for little turtle, but it wasn't just chosen for its cute animal association. I'll read from Bitter Southerner, quote, it was a nod to the colonial era indigenous military commander of the same name who led Native American forces to one of their most decisive victories against the then nascent U.S. Army in 1791. Now, Tort was allegedly apprehensive to share the meaning behind their chosen name with a journalist who was interviewing them, because, quote, that does not make us look like peaceful protesters. We are very peaceful people, I promise,

unquote. There's a few other quotes attributed to Tort across various articles that seem to espouse a belief in nonviolence as a tactical strategy. It's incredibly important to continue having popular support. Cop City is incredibly unpopular already. We're very popular. We're cool. We get a lot of support from people who live here, and that's important because we win through nonviolence. We're not going to beat them at violence, but we can beat them in public opinion, in the courts even, unquote. Based on frequent phone calls with Tort about forced defense, Tortuguita's own mother has shared similar sentiments about

Tort's politics, saying they, quote, carry no malice, unquote. I'm going to read one more quote from Tortuguita about this topic. The right kind of resistance is peaceful because that's where we win. We're not going to beat them at violence. They're very, very good at violence. We're not. We win through nonviolence. That's really the only way we can win. We don't want more people to die. We don't want Atlanta to turn into a war zone.

Yeah. Welcome. I'm Danny Thrill. Won't you join me at the fire and dare enter? Nocturnal Tales from the Shadows, presented by iHeart and Sonora. Tales from the Shadows, presented by iHeart and Sonora. An anthology of modern-day horror stories inspired by the legends of Latin America. From ghastly encounters with shapeshifters to bone-chilling brushes with supernatural creatures. I know you. Filling brushes with supernatural creatures.

I know it. Take a trip and experience the horrors that have haunted Latin America since the beginning of time. Listen to Nocturnal Tales from the Shadows. As part of My Cultura podcast network. Available on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Hi, I'm Ed Zitron, host of the Better Offline podcast, and we're kicking off our second season digging into how tech's elite has turned Silicon Valley into a playground for billionaires. for billionaires. From the chaotic world of generative AI to the destruction of Google search, better offline is your unvarnished and at times unhinged look at the underbelly of tech from an industry veteran with nothing to lose. This season, I'm going to be joined by everyone from Nobel-winning economists to leading journalists in the field, and I'll be digging

into why the products you love keep getting worse and naming and shaming those responsible. Don't get me wrong, though. I love technology. I just hate the people in charge and want them to get back to building things that actually do things to help real people. I swear to God things can change if we're loud enough. So join me every week to understand what's happening in the tech industry and what could be done to make things better. Listen to Better Offline on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, wherever else you get your podcasts. Check out betteroffline.com.

If you love hearing real conversations with your favorite Latin celebrities, artists, and culture shifters, this is the podcast for you. We're talking real conversations with our Latin stars, from actors and artists to musicians and creators, sharing their stories, struggles, and successes. You know it's going to be filled with chisme, laughs, and all the vibes that you love. Each week, we'll explore everything from music and pop culture to deeper topics like identity, community, and breaking down barriers in all sorts of industries. Don't miss out on the fun, el té caliente, and life stories. Join me for Gracias Come Again, a podcast by Honey German, where we get into todo lo actual y viral. Listen to Gracias Come Again on the iHeartRadio app,

Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. During my time in Atlanta, I wanted to learn as much as possible about Tortugita, about who they were as a person, what kind of stuff they enjoyed doing, what they were to the movement, but mostly just listen to people's stories and memories of Tort. Peter met Tort just shortly after they moved to Atlanta. So I met Tort in May of 2022, around the time when they first got to the forest from Tallahassee. I met them during that week of action and they were like insanely enthusiastic about being there. We met around a fire and talked about how our enthusiasm for life sometimes offended people. That was something that we had in common.

They talked about their mom a lot. I won't say I was a close friend of Tort's, but I was a dear comrade to them, and being in relationship with them really sharpened my conflict skills. I was in a few different conflicts with Tort, and also on the sidelines for some conflicts that they had with other people. And I learned a lot about how to be more gentle with my comrades, and how to give people more grace in times of high stress. people more grace in times of high stress. This is a snippet from my conversation with Cricket on what Tortuguita brought to the movement and how they really lived their politics. Tort was hilarious. They were someone who always brought fun to whatever they were doing. And I'm sure through the folks that you're seeing, the folks that people can see on social media with

the outpouring of support for Tort, that they were involved in so many different groups, so many different causes. Um, and they were, they were an incredibly dedicated activists, but someone who really felt that resistance could be fun, could be joyful, could be celebratory.

Uh, it was always an opportunity to meet new people, to hug new people. Um, they were a big hugger. They were someone who was always checking in on other people. They were someone who was always there to lend a hand, uh,

either literally or, or, either literally or metaphorically. And they really inspired, I think, a lot of people. And I think that that was something huge that they contributed to the movement, not just as a person, but also bringing that joyfulness, bringing that energy, that passion and excitement really inspired me and inspired a lot of people. It's funny, a lot of the people I've talked to

have mentioned just because of the different, like, you know, affinity groups they've been in and stuff. There's like a lot of people I've talked to have talked, have mentioned a lot, like that they would not like regularly, but like every once in a while,

like get into conflicts with tort. Like there was, there was someone who you would, you would sometimes who there would be just happened to be disagreements with, but despite disagreements with. But despite disagreements, they were one of the kindest people that they met. Even when they're arguing about something, it's like they would go so far to make sure that other people knew that they were cared for and would go and just be very open towards like everybody they meet yeah i think

they really tried to live into and walk the walk of abolition and non-carceral conflict of it's okay to disagree and disagreement doesn't mean that you got to get kicked out it does not mean that you're a bad person they allowed for complexity and allowed for processes of working through things of talking through things and And that's a huge gift. I mean, I think anyone, regardless of their level of activism, can relate to the idea that it's hard to disagree. It's hard to be in conflict sometimes.

But I do think that they were really committed to building relationships of trust where you could disagree, where you could have differing opinions, but that there was still so much love and still so much care and that those things were not themselves in conflict. Those things were actually very, very much related. And yeah, no, it was, they're special. And yeah, I'm just, I'm just, sorry, I'm just heartbroken. Tortuguita's partner and a close friend of theirs recorded a video shortly after the shooting,

just talking about who Tortuguita was and how they lived in community. I got permission from their partner to use clips from that video in this episode. Tort was always a very welcoming presence. They're always one of the greatest organizers we had out there. They took care of everyone who came through. They always wanted to make the greatest organizers we had out there. They took care of everyone who came through. They always wanted to make sure everyone was taken care of. They were the ones who would welcome you into the forest and they would make sure you have a sleeping bag, a sleeping pad, a tent, whatever you could possibly need. Always making sure people are getting fed and just kind of like the transparent you've never had.

One of the people I spoke with, Noah, also talked about how Tortuguito was quick to welcome people into the movement. I knew Tort through various actions around the forest and doing medical work with them. I think a lot of people have echoed this, but I remember them as being one of the kindest and most welcoming people that I ever met working out in the forest. Whenever we had new people come in, Tor was very often one of the first people to greet them. I was always very open to letting people come and see and be a part of the community that had been established out in the woods.

It was an extremely welcoming place, and they were a very welcoming person. I was always willing to put down to help somebody out and to do the work it took to make sure that the community was safe out there and that it could continue. So much of the stuff around the forest, it's all about like the militants in the woods. And Tord kind of fell into that category. You know, people who are wearing balaclavas, camping out in the forest.

Most of the people I've interviewed are also more on that side of things. But not everyone feels like they have the ability to put on a ski mask and live in the woods. One of the people I spoke with was a mother named Karen, who started doing local neighborhood organizing after connecting with Tortuguita last summer. So I met Tort last summer,

and there was like lots of things happening in the park. And, you know, I'm a neighbor. And so I was the, who really fought for, you know, tried to get the city council to vote against it. And so I was the, who really fought for, you know, tried to get the city council to vote against it. And so I was interested, you know, curious and interested about all of these events happening at the park. They were all like mostly at nighttime and I have a toddler. And so I'm like boring and have a strict bedtime. And so I don't, you know, go out at nighttime. So I was like trying to find a place

for me and like people like me and other boring, you know, parents. And so I got connected with Tort. And we start, we started, I guess, going during the daytime, and I'm taking my toddler over there to the park to explore. And, you know, we, Tort and I talked a lot about, well, at first they were really excited about all the, the idea, like children being at the park. They really wanted it, the park to be for everyone. I'm very much like a neighborhood mom. Like I was new to activism and I didn't even know I was like, you know, I thought we were just like visiting a park, but you know, there's like a whole lot of different things about being in it that really kind of helped me navigate and showed me around. In my experience, it takes a special kind of person to onboard somebody new to this sort of thing.

Some anarchists can come off as a bit pompous sometimes, or at least hesitant to welcome new people in. Karen spoke on how Tortuguita kind of showed them the ropes and helped educate on everything from local organizing to security culture. Well, I didn't have Signal before. I was like, okay, I want to reach out to try and make my neighborhood aware. I made flyers and just like, to try and make my neighborhood aware. I made flyers and just like put like the environmental effects, you know, and I send it to tort and they were like, okay, yeah, this looks good. And then I was like, should it just be like anonymous or should I, you know, like make like Instagram or should I put my name on it? And you know, all those things, should I put my number on it? And they were like, okay, well,

get a Google voice number and you can set up like an email for it. Maybe use proton. Then I was like, should I just like, I don't have to put any information on it, but like, what if, you know, there's people like me in the neighborhood, I guess, like how do you balance that? And they said, no, I think if you got to like organize a neighborhood group, it would be sick. So yeah, you know, they were conscious of all those things, but also like knew where,

when, and where it was like appropriate. And we just like bounced ideas back and forth. They really helped me like navigate that. I really think it just shows how inclusive they were, that they like how they were engaged with me. I'm like, you know, an older neighborhood mom, but they were really supportive and, you know, I guess made me feel valued, never made me feel embarrassed about anything. I think it was just like, if it wasn't about like the party or I don't know, like being cool or anything, they just really wanted the

forest to be for everyone and just how they were like willing to engage with the community. My conversations with Karen and others in Atlanta really showed Tort as a person who was always thinking about others and how to support the people around them, not even just focusing on themselves while living in the forest, but working to expand that care outwards. So yeah, I made this flyer and twerk called a bunch of other, I don't even know if they were people that were living in the forest or just people and, you know, friends or whatever. But, and was like, hey, we're all going to go canvas. And I think they slept in that day.

We met at the park, but me and a couple of neighbors met, like, you know, and I was like, I had zero expectations. And, and they texted me later and was like, I'm so sorry, but we'll do it again. But yeah, just that, you know, like they were willing to come put flyers door to door and yeah, just like support me in that way. Karen has continued to do neighborhood organizing since meeting Tort last summer and is a great example of the variety of people involved in the Defend the Atlanta Forest movement. Based on the many local people she's spoken with, Karen says the Stop Cop City proposal is pretty unpopular in the area. So yeah, we've just been like dropping flyers off and just

letting them know the environmental effects and everyone we've talked to, like, you know, no one wants it. And I think lots of people, lots of them aren't called in, you know, to city council, but yeah, I guess Tort and I, and our kind of idea was like, if we can make a space, it's like, you know, they may not want to go to the forest, but if we can kind of create a space for them in the movement. Cricket talked about the many projects that Tort had a hand in and its willingness to just go out there and do things, not just sit around and wait for the world to get better. They lived anarchism in a very active way.

I don't know if anyone mentioned the trans sanctuary that tort built and helped built and and helped organize i just wanted to uplift that as just another sort of amazing project that they were involved with i remember hearing about it tort talked about it and they were like oh yeah you know we're gonna have a volunteer day and then two weeks later we had like another little check-in and they were like, oh yeah, no, we, we like did it. And I was like, excuse me? Like, I just, I just, I don't know. They were just like this, this Tasmanian devil of social justice. Like I felt like they were just constantly on the move, getting stuff done, supporting people. It's just, it was, I don't know. Like that's just a, another memory that

I keep revisiting of just being like, oh my they are not paralyzed like they are living they were living day to day right like they knew that tomorrow could bring another raid like they yeah they weren't stupid they were really actually brilliant and they could just they just lived every day so fully and brought everything they had a friend of tortuguita's that goes by the name Levitate the Pentagon, which is definitely in the top three forest names that I've heard, but they gave a statement to Rolling Stone where they said, quote, Tortuguita was a proud and fierce anarchist. The struggle for total liberation came as their first commitment in life. We must honor that commitment. We must honor that commitment. From a lot of the medical trains that we did together and times out there, they were just, I don't know, they're really funny. They like to make people laugh, be like a very calming presence during stressful times.

They could make a joke really out of any situation, but I remember a lot of conversations just about what we were doing in the forest and their like reasons for being out there and their you know just kind of echoing these ideas of combating the you know

the state and then the state's push for you know destroying the forest for the effects that that would know destroying the forest for the effects that that would have on the climate for the increasing ability of the police to militarize and to suppress uh not just people in atlanta but law enforcement agencies from across the country coming to train at this facility to better clamp down on uprisings yeah they were just they're really kind very tenacious that's like the two things I can always kind of come back to, obviously, as a person.

Tort's capacity for wit under high-stress situations is something I heard from a lot of different people, including Tort's friends and their partner. Just really, really, like, always, like, had a joke, had, like, a really, like, good, sharp commentary, or would, like, give you, like, a cigarette. Professional shit poster. Yeah, yeah.

I mean, their meme game. On point. On point. Yeah, and just always, like like doing a lot of things. And so they were running around a lot, like getting things for people and then handing it off to them. And so like, yeah, I think a lot of the times when we would run into like for like, oftentimes we run into each other and be like, Oh, Hey, hi, hi. Okay. We're doing a thing. And then like, okay, gotta go, bye. You know, and there's always like,

dee! Yeah. Signature. They were super into that. Oh, that smile. Yeah. They loved fruit snacks, loved them, couldn't get enough of them.

And they always helped do the dishes. Can I just say like, that's a big deal. Yeah, like no one likes doing the dishes. It's like they were always there doing the dishes. Can I just say like, that's a big deal. Yeah. Like no one likes doing the dishes. It's like, they were always there doing the dishes. They were like, oh my God, running water, hot water. Like, I'm in like, like, like, oh my God. And just like, yeah, that's, that's what I want people to know. Fruit snacks and dishes. Fruit snacks have come up a lot throughout my conversations with people. Tortakita's partner and friend also talked about how Tort tried to balance helping other people with their own self-care.

They were always so passionate because they wanted to help people so bad that they would put their all into it. It took a toll on them in a lot of ways, but they always were so fucking strong and took on so much more than i ever could they they're an inspiration to us all they also need to like disappear for like hours or days at a time and just like recharge they read a lot oh yeah i remember one of the like one, one of the things...

They'd just be sitting in their hammock in their tent. In their tent and just be reading, doing whatever it was they were doing. Shitpost and whatever they could to de-stress. They were good about taking care of themselves, but they did get

into some conundrums where they'd get stressed out and then you'd just see them go off on their own and then come back in a few days and then they're all good again. Happy-go-lucky. I've heard them described as kind and they definitely were. I think the word that comes to mind the most is earnest. They were just like incredibly earnest. I think like the earnestness I'm talking about is like they truly live their politics. Like anyone can talk about like inclusivity and love and

fighting for the future, but they actually, you know, just in how they carried themselves and interacted with me, they really did that. And lots of people might be like cynical about it or maybe call them like optimistic or naive but they actually lived i feel like love sounds corny but yeah just like a love for people and nature in the forest what was that piece we were talking about revolutionary death yes yes yeah they read that this last summer and it really had a strong impact upon them. And they, I think you were sharing as well that they had spoken about how they knew it was very possible that they were going to have this revolutionary death, and that... Back to them kind of giving their all.

They were prepared and they unfortunately paid the ultimate price. As sad as we all are, I'm sure Tortiquita, wherever they are now, is happy to know that they gave their all. All the way until the end. They were always, they were a true revolutionary and gave their all to this movement. And I think now it's our job to take up that banner and carry on his name, their name. In multiple ways, escalatory actions of police last December led to the current fatal scenario, not just with the domestic terror framing as a pretext for using increased force,

but also the physical destruction of treehouses, resulting in people being out in more vulnerable positions. They were very calculated in their risks, positions. They were very calculated in their risks, and they would never have had to be put in this situation if their home in the trees hadn't been destroyed. They lived in a treehouse, and the treehouse that they were really holding down and staying in was bulldozed in the mid-December rates. Welcome. I'm Danny Thrill. Won't you join me at the fire and dare enter Nocturn Tales from the Shadows, presented by iHeart and Sonoro. An anthology of modern day horror stories inspired by the legends of Latin America. From ghastly encounters with shapeshifters,

to bone-chilling brushes with supernatural creatures. I know you. Take a trip and experience the horrors that have haunted Latin America since the beginning of time. Listen to Nocturnal Tales from the Shadows as part of my Cultura podcast network, available on the iHeartRadio app,

Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Hi, I'm Ed Zitron, host of the Better Offline podcast, and we're kicking off our second season digging into how Tex Elite has turned Silicon Valley into a playground for billionaires. From the chaotic world of generative AI to the destruction of Google search, better offline is your unvarnished and at times unhinged look at the underbelly of tech from an industry veteran with nothing to lose. This season I'm going to be joined by everyone from Nobel winning economists to leading journalists in the field and I'll be digging into why the products you

love keep getting worse and naming and shaming those responsible. Don't get me wrong, though. I love technology. I just hate the people in charge and want them to get back to building things that actually do things to help real people. I swear to God things can change if we're loud enough, so join me every week to understand

what's happening in the tech industry and what could be done to make things better. Listen to Better Offline on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, wherever else you get your podcasts. Check out betteroffline.com. Hola mi gente, it's Honey German and I'm bringing you Gracias, Come Again, the podcast where we dive deep into the world of Latin culture, musica, peliculas, and entertainment with some of the biggest names in the game. If you love hearing real conversations with your favorite Latin celebrities, Thank you. Cheeseman laughs, and all the vibes that you love. Each week, we'll explore everything from music and pop culture

to deeper topics like identity, community, and breaking down barriers in all sorts of industries. Don't miss out on the fun, el té caliente, and life stories. Join me for Gracias Come Again, a podcast by Honey German, where we get into todo lo actual y viral. Listen to Gracias Come Again on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. On November 21st, 2006, undercover Atlanta Police Department officers executed a no-knock warrant on the home of 92-year-old

Catherine Johnston in the Bankhead neighborhood of Atlanta. Police claim to have evidence that crack cocaine was being sold out of the house. Officers in plainclothes cut off the burglar bars to Johnston's home of 17 years and broke down her door. According to the police, the 92-year-old woman shot several officers. Multiple cops were treated for gunshot wounds. Catherine Johnston was shot and killed by the police in her own home, where police then claimed to have found marijuana, thanks to an informant who said that they bought drugs at the house. Except every single thing the police claimed was a lie. Earlier that day, an officer had found bags of marijuana in the woods. The drugs were planted on a suspected dealer who didn't have any drugs on him. The officer threatened to arrest the suspected dealer

if he didn't give up information leading to an arrest. The man gave the police an address on Neal Street and a fake name to buy cocaine with. The APD claimed the police were raiding the house because an informant had bought crack at Johnston's home. It turns out all of the injuries to officers came from friendly fire. They fucked up their own guys. The cops fired a total of 39 shots, five or six of which hit Johnston. As a 92-year-old woman living alone, she owned a rusty revolver for self-defense. As these unannounced strangers in plain clothes

kicked down her door, Johnston did fire once and missed. Three police officers in Atlanta executed Catherine Johnston as they shot each other with friendly fire. To cover this up, they lied and planted evidence. They ran a smear campaign against Johnston, further victimizing the old woman that they killed and who the cops knew was innocent. The police in Atlanta have a track record of shooting each other, killing civilians, and lying about it. With that history in mind, this next part might get a little complicated, but I think it's important. A lot of the people who knew

Tort have talked about how they often advocated for nonviolence in direct action. Many have said the sequence of events put forth by police just doesn't sound like something tort would do. And I very much understand this reaction. Police lie all the time, especially when it comes to people the cops have killed. It is very likely that tort really was just murdered by the cops. But I also think there's part of this reaction that's almost like a self-preservation mechanism, stemming from a worry that if a certain Pandora's box gets opened, what that would mean for the movement and for the struggle against militarized police and ecological collapse more broadly. There are also many scenarios that can lead to a brief exchange of gunfire, especially with the Georgia State Patrol's relative inexperience conducting raids in the forest. You can spend days just thinking of various possibilities for what could have happened, but also opened up many possibilities to endlessly ruminate about, especially with on-the-ground chatter indicating cops shot each other. This next person is one of the original Forest Defenders I interviewed for my previous Defend the Atlanta Forest series from last May.

defend the Atlanta Forest series from last May. The turret, as their partner stated, as its friends stated, had spoken about being moved by a piece called Revolutionary Death. They did not shy away from the idea that they could die for the things that they believe in. They'd not shy away from the idea that they could be murdered for the ideas that they believe in and the life they want to live. We should not dismiss the possibility and reality that people can and maybe even should look at this world, look at the police murdering three or four people a day,

of the climate catastrophe that we live in, of the rising tide of fascism, of the absolute fucking hell that we fucking live in, and think this can't go on and I'm willing to do anything and pay anything to make it stop. We can't dismiss that that is a very real possible grievance. That is a very real and possible state of mind. And that, if that was towards, if that was toward Tabitha's, if that was Kamele's, if that was its position, that it is not alone. That it and I, undoubtedly, one of that in our willingness to die for what we believe in. Tortugita, both privately and publicly, talked about an appreciation for nonviolence as a long-term strategy.

strategy and the flip side of that is tort has also been described to me as somebody who acts with intention acts with great thought and if they did decide to do something they would have had a good reason to and they would not have chosen to do something if it had the potential to put fellow force defenders in unnecessary danger based Based on some of my conversations, while Tort advocated for the potential of nonviolence as a political strategy, they itself were not solely nonviolent. The Atlanta Police Foundation have lied about every single aspect of this project's development since the start. The GBI said that there was no body cam footage, and the police have spent the last year fine-tuning their propaganda to frame the Defend the Forest movement as a criminal

enterprise and anyone protesting against Cop City as a dangerous terrorist and threat to public safety. But there is a difference between mindlessly believing the police narrative and trying to not retroactively take away somebody's agency, especially if they did make a decision that they thought was the right choice given the circumstance. Yeah, I've been thinking a lot about the discourse around the ideas about, I think a lot of people have been talking a lot about trying to, you know, there's narrative flaws in the police's story about what happened on that raid. There's inconsistencies. We just now got photos of the gun that they're alleging was used just like a couple of days ago. And it was days after the GPI's initial

evidence found report. It does all look suspicious, but I think the thing that's bothered me is that I would never want to take away agency from someone who cannot speak for themselves for an act that they may have committed. If tort shot that cop, that was a shot fired in liberation against the state that murders thousands of people and destroys millions more through the carceral system, the same state that seeks to help the South River flood and to make the soil 20 degrees hotter and to make Atlanta's air quality go down. I would never want to take agency away from my comrade to have done that when they cannot speak for themselves, and I don't think anybody should try and make it seem like it would have been an unjustified act. A shot fired at the police in defense of the forest is a shot fired in self-defense. Cops shoot each other all the time. I mean, actually,

they're terrible with their arms. They're just not good at their jobs. GSP, I think, as a specific agency, is something that needs to be focused on more here. I've seen a lot of people kind of wrap up GSP and APD and, like, the cab PD as these, like, very, like, just as one agency up GSP and APD and like the cab PDS leads like very like just as one agency um GSP as Georgia State Patrol is under the direct command of our governor and do not wear body cams as an agency

policy um they're the governor's stormtroopers when he wants something done violently and without accountability that is who he sends and you know my reaction to all of this whether or not want something done violently and without accountability, that is who he sends. And, you know, my reaction to all of this, whether or not what the events transpired is that our comrade is dead, our comrade was murdered by the state, whether or not they allegedly fired on an officer, I think the solidarity and rage that people should show should be the same either way. solidarity and rage that people should show should be the same either way. If it were to come out that that officer was in fact shot, I would be so disheartened if people turned their back

on our comrade who was slain by the police for what I see as an act of self-defense. With all of the unknown around what happened the day of the shooting, around what happened the day of the shooting, what we do know for sure I've heard boiled down to two simple points. Tort was killed defending the forest, and they died doing what it loved. The first event-type thing I went to in Atlanta was a noise demo outside a DeKalb County jail Thursday night for the seven people arrested

as a part of the deadly raid, all seven of whom are now facing domestic terrorism charges for being in the forest. The next day, Friday the 20th, there was a large public vigil in Wolani People's Park. Last time I was there, it was for the Muskogee Creek Summit near the end of last spring. It was sunny, I was hanging out in the gazebo listening to ecological presentations, there was a large tent kitchen in the grass, and I got to sit around a table and eat food with people. When I arrived Friday evening for the vigil, the first thing I saw was the destroyed remains of the gazebo, almost on display by the entrance of the torn-up parking lot. It was such a clear visual indicator for how things have changed since the start of last summer. Near the tree line, a few hundred people were gathered around a sort of outdoor shrine.

A few large stone slabs overturned, candles, flowers, forest plants, little turtles, pictures, art, cigarettes, and yes, fruit snacks, forming an orange glowing mound. People gathered and shared memories of Tortugita. mound. People gathered and shared memories of Tortuguita. Many spoke of its kindness and solidarity with struggles across the South, from the defense of drag shows in Tennessee to mutual aid work in Florida, where they helped build housing in low-income communities hit hardest by hurricanes. I feel like Tortuguita's compassion was something that really shifted the culture in the forest and touched all of the lives of the people that they met. They lived what they believed, which is something that I hope we can all be inspired by. There are so many stories of people who were just mentioning to tort like oh i'm in this situation or this happened to my friend and they would just immediately be thinking of ways that community

could help them or that they could help them and someone just shared a story with me that the last time that they saw tort they were telling them about how uh the unhoused folks in their community were getting their tents and sleeping bags like swept and then tort gave them $200 to like replace the sleeping bags and tents and I feel like they were just they had such a sense of kinship with people even people that they didn't know

they were so connected to like the ways that we are all a part of this web of life um and so committed to living in a way that can bring us all into a better community with each other whether it be us and our fellow human beings or us in our forests um and they loved these woods and i feel like the fact that these woods were where they departed from this realm into the next just makes it that much more important that we protect them and that we make sure that this forest remains intact.

I know that that's what Tort would have wanted. That's what they died doing. And I think that in all of the chaos and desperation and devastation that this loss is bringing our community, I think that one of the things that has been keeping me going is remembering the love that Tort had for people and for all living beings and just feeling really connected to their compassion. And I hope that that's something, I know that that's something that is touching, has touched all of us and the

ripples of it are continuing the love that tort brought to this world is still here and is continuing to grow so I think that they're I think that they're here with us and I think that they always will be because they brought so much joy and goodness and love into this world and that's something that never goes away. It only grows. I've gotten permission from a few of the people that spoke that night to share some of their stories of Torta Gita. One of the small things that stuck with me was how someone described tort as possessing a playful, rebellious energy. Tort and I watched this Yugoslav film together called My Father the Socialist Pulak,

which was this joyful Yugoslavian film from the 80s about the transition after World War II in Yugoslavia to autonomous self-rule and breaking apart with the Soviet sphere. And in it,

early on in the film they're changing their social customs they've adopted a new way of greeting each other in Yugoslavia where they they say good morning death to fascism. And from that time, when I would see tort, always they would, death to fascism, comrade, death to fascism. And tort, when I first met them, invited me to teach Aikido in the forest. It's a martial art that's called the art of peace. And so while we train as warriors, we train as peaceful warriors. But as many people have said, we instance, did defenses of drag shows in Tennessee from assemblies of Nazis and Proud Boys who showed up in body armor with assault rifles.

And tort was militant but joyful. Tort took all of the, always it was with the utmost gravity and yet with the utmost lightness and you know we as well arranged a weekend of

conflict resolution training here where tort rallied and was the one that brought, you know, a half a dozen people, was always rallying people, brought people to the drag defense, brought people to the trainings, brought people to my Aikido class, maybe brought two dozen different people through over the course of several dozen classes. They were a peaceful warrior and they were my squad mate and they got shot dead. And I'd like to lead a chant in that

spirit to honor some of Tort's warrior spirit tonight. And I know one that they liked is a auntie auntie capitalista and we could start together slow and quiet and build together a powerful voice and and pierce the night. Ah, anti- Anji Kapitalista! Ah! Anti-Anti-Capitalista! Ah! Anti-Anti-Capitalista! Ah! Anti-Anti-Capitalista! Thank you. Throughout the night, many songs were sung alongside screams of rage. Tortuguita actually left a tag with a little red sharpie on the guitar being played at the vigil. It's a little doodle of a cat face next to the words,

All cats are beautiful. Somebody at the vigil read out a few of the messages sent in to the remember tort at protonmail.com email address, many of which you can now find collected at stop cop dot city. That's stop cop period city. One of the things about tort that was really inspirational is that they weren't just against capitalism they weren't just against the police they made abolition about what they were fighting for and on the we remember tort uh proton mail a lot of people have been sending in stories about how they contributed so much to each community that they were in and i want to read this one that came in from someone in Tallahassee.

Everyone in Tallahassee knew Manny. I'm not even exaggerating. They were a part of almost every single organization they could get their hands on in town. Food Not Bombs, The Plant, Live Oak Radical Ecology, International Workers of the World, Tallahassee Community Action Committee, Free Dan Baker, Stopping HB1, ETC. With every person who was lucky enough to be graced with their presence, they felt safe and free to do whatever they could for the community. They ran a cold night shelter for the homeless practically on their own when the Kearney Center couldn't do it. They helped do grocery deliveries for those in the south side of town for free. They showed up to almost every single meal share that F&B hosted, and this is only a fraction of the work that they did for the Bond community here in Tallahassee and beyond.

Manny, I always watched you from the periphery with awe. I always wanted to be your close friend. I wish you could have seen the vigil that we had. You would have been proud. The large overturned stone by the flowers, candles, and fruit snacks at the Wolani Vigil had a message written on it that I read when I returned to the park a few days later. The Big Boulder reads, Erected in memory of all whose lives were lived and unjustly lost in Wolani Forest. You live on in the trees and are remembered by the land. You will never be forgotten. If it's okay, I'll share another of the messages that I sent. Manny was a close friend, comrade, and above all, constant fighter for working people.

I knew them in Tallahassee through the IWW, Food Not Bombs, and Live Oak Radical Ecology, and I will never cease to be amazed by their tireless activism, their extreme empathy, and their ability to make everyone feel welcomed in radical spaces. They died as they lived, fighting for a better world and defending the forest from

destruction in the name of a fascist militarized police force. I hope their name will not be forgotten and that their killer is brought to justice. But more than anything, I hope the cause that they fought for is victorious. Now we mourn this great loss to the Tallahassee and Atlanta communities, but tomorrow we will fight back twice as hard against capitalism in the state so that Tortuguita did not die in vain. This is another one. They were kind and fierce. They were sweet, extraordinarily funny, conscientious, tender, silly, loving, and one of the most generous people I have met. And that contagious smile and laugh, three exclamation points. I went to bed last night hearing their laughter in my head, loud and beautiful. They somehow were still there to add levity and joy as I screamed, cried, and choked on my own spit all night.

And they killed you. You are gone, comrade. I missed you. I miss you. They had a deep understanding of solidarity and struggle. When the cops swept an encampment in my neighborhood without hesitation, they shared their forest funds to get more tents and sleeping bags because they knew that these are not individual battles, but that these struggles are inherently tied to one another, that they are part of the same struggle. This is a lesson for the movement that must be carried forward. For them, for all of us, for the strength of the fight to stop Cop City. I will miss how we greeted one another and our meager attempts to make it a thing.

Death to fascism, liberation to all people. One of the people playing the Tortuguita-tagged guitar at the vigil played a version of Bella Ciao. And I'm just going to read out the way that they described the song. Bella Ciao means goodbye beautiful in Italian. The song was originally about an Italian partisan who goes out to fight the fascists in the mountains during World War II. And I'd like to dedicate this version to somebody

who laid their life down to fight against fascism, militarism, and against the expansion of the police and against the destruction of nature. Somebody who lifted up all of the people they were around, knew so many people, was involved in so many communities, and was just so funny, so loving, so friendly. and was just so funny, so loving, so friendly. And they laid their life down for their community, and to stop cop city, and to stop militarism, and the destruction of nature. They really believed in what they were doing, and the way we can honor them is by continuing their fight.

Death to fascism. See you on the other side The world is waking Outside my window Bella Ciao Bella Ciao Bella Ciao Ciao Ciao Drags my senses Into the sunlight For there are things

That I must do Wish me luck now I have to leave you Bella Ciao, Bella Ciao, Bella Ciao, Ciao, Ciao With my friends now, in the forest We're gonna shake the gates of hell And we will tell them, yeah we will tell them yeah we will tell them yeah Bella Ciao Bella Ciao Bella Ciao Ciao Ciao

that we Lonnie's not for the franchise and wish the bastards dropped and dead next time you see me I may be smiling oh Bella Ciao Bella Ciao Bella Ciao Ciao Ciao I may be smiling. Oh, Bella, ciao, Bella, ciao, Bella, ciao, ciao, ciao. I'll be in prison or on the TV. I'll say the forest called me here.

The world is waking Outside my window Bella Ciao, Bella Ciao, Bella Ciao, Ciao, Ciao Drive my senses into the sunlight For there are things that I must do Wish me luck now, I have to leave you Bella Ciao, Bella Ciao, Bella Ciao, Ciao, Ciao With my friends that, in the forest Were gonna shake the gates of hell And we will tell em, yeah we will tell em

Oh Bella Ciao, Bella Ciao, Bella Ciao, Ciao, Ciao That we lotties, not for the franchise Wish the bastards dropped on dead Next time you see me, I may be smiling Bella Ciao, Bella Ciao, Bella Ciao, Ciao, Ciao I'll be in prison or on the TV I'll say the forest called me here The world is waking, outside my window Bella ciao, bella ciao, bella ciao, ciao, ciao Drive my senses into the sunlight For there are things that I must do Oh, wish me luck now, I gotta leave you

Bella ciao, bella ciao, bella ciao, ciao, ciao With my friends now, in the forest We're gonna shake the gates of hell And we will tell them We will tell them Bella Ciao, Bella Ciao, Bella Ciao, Ciao, Ciao That we Lonnie's not for the franchise And wish the bastards dropped and dead

Next time you see me, I might be smiling Bella Ciao, Bella Ciao, Bella Ciao, Ciao, Ciao I'll be in prison or on the TV I'll say the forest called me here Next time you see me, I may be smiling. Bella, ciao, Bella, ciao, Bella, ciao, ciao, ciao. I'll be in prison or on the TV. I'll say the forest called me here. Music by The Narcissist Cookbook and Propaganda. at coolzonemedia.com slash sources. Thanks for listening. You should probably keep your lights on for Nocturnal Tales from the Shadow.

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