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Transgender Activists Climb 250-Foot Crane in Atlanta to Protest 'Cop City' (VIDEO)

'Cop City' will sit on 381 acres in the South River Forest, also known as the Weelaunee Forest.

Published: March 29, 2024
  |   By Cassandra MacDonald
Transgender Activists Climb 250-Foot Crane in Atlanta to Protest 'Cop City' (VIDEO)

Two transgender anarchist activists climbed a 250-foot construction crane in Atlanta to protest the $90 million Atlanta Public Safety Training Center, which has been nicknamed "Cop City" by activists.


The two biological men who identify as women dropped a sizeable vertical banner from the crane that read "Drop Cop City."

"Cop City" will sit on 381 acres in the South River Forest, also known as the Weelaunee Forest.

Anti-police militants and extremist environmentalists have been camping in trees and protesting on the grounds where the construction is meant to occur, claiming to be defending the forest.

According to a statement from Defend the Atlanta Forest/Stop Cop City campaigns, "The duo used reinforced pipes to attach themselves to the ladder system within the crane, effectively shutting down the machine."

The crane was at a Brasfield & Gorrie work site.

According to the statement, Brasfield & Gorrie is the lead contractor for the Cop City project and has faced waves of protests and worksite disruptions in recent weeks.

The climbing duo claimed that their action was also to "highlight recent violence that trans people have faced in Atlanta, and anti-trans legislation moving through the Georgia legislature."

In January 2023, as police attempted to clear an anarchist encampment protesting the police training center, a Georgia State Patrol trooper wearing a bulletproof vest was shot in the abdomen.

Other officers returned fire and fatally shot the extremist.

The officer was transported to the hospital for emergency surgery and survived.

Last March, the Atlanta Police arrested 23 people for domestic terrorism after a "coordinated attack on construction equipment and police officers" at the Atlanta Public Safety Training Center site.

The Atlanta Police Department explained in a statement at the time, "On March 5, 2023, a group of violent agitators used the cover of a peaceful protest of the proposed Atlanta Public Safety Training Center to conduct a coordinated attack on construction equipment and police officers. They changed into black clothing and entered the construction area, and began to throw large rocks, bricks, Molotov cocktails, and fireworks at police officers."


"The agitators destroyed multiple pieces of construction equipment by fire and vandalism. Multiple law enforcement agencies deployed to the area and detained several people committing illegal activity. 35 agitators have been detained so far," the statement continued. "The illegal actions of the agitators could have resulted in bodily harm. Officers exercised restraint and used non-lethal enforcement to conduct arrests."

One of those arrested, Tom Jurgens, was a staff attorney for a far-left extremist organization, the Southern Poverty Law Center — which has historically been used as a source for the FBI on domestic extremism.


Only two of the arrestees live in Georgia.

Five others involved in the protests were arrested and charged with domestic terrorism in December 2022.

At the time of those arrests, the GBI said, "Prior to yesterday’s operation, APD and other agencies had made several arrests over the past few months for the ongoing criminal activity at the site location. Some of the criminal activities include carjacking, various crimes against persons, destruction of property, arson, and attacks against public safety officials. Law enforcement continues to address the criminal acts committed by the individuals that continue to occupy the area of the proposed training site.

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