A number of racial justice organizations joined forces on Thursday to hold a national day of action to demand accountability for the fatal arrest of 29-year-old Tyre Nichols, forest defender Tortuguita and other victims who have died at the hands of law enforcement.
The National Day of Action Against Police Terror initiative is being spearheaded by activists from the #StopCopCity campaign, the Movement for Black Lives, Hip Hop Caucus and several other racial justice groups nationwide. Ralliers will gather today in Atlanta and several other cities across the U.S. to make their voices heard.
The protest will also honor the lives of Breonna Taylor and Tortuguita, the slain environmental activist who died in February
According to a press release, attendees in Atlanta will hold a march at 6 p.m. today at the King Center Amphitheater (449 Auburn Ave NE). Additionally, in-person and virtual events will be held in a variety of other cities, including Boston, Chicago, Detroit, D.C., NYC and Memphis.
The Day of Action is a part of the #StopCopCity campaign’s week-long initiative to protest building a police and firefighter training ground on hundreds of acres of an Atlanta forest. Opponents have dubbed the forthcoming facility “Cop City” as a result.
In February, Tortuguita, an environmental activist from the city, was shot at least a dozen times by authorities while protesting the construction of the facility with a group of activists, according to The Associated Press. Officials say Tortuguita, whose real name was Manuel Esteban Paez Terán, shot a state trooper as contractors and police were clearing activists from the forested site.
Authorities have yet to provide Terán’s family with answers.
The nationwide call to action comes just one day after the Department of Justice released new evidence connected to the police brutality death of Breonna Taylor in 2020. Officials from the department confirmed that the officers involved in the…
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