Atlanta approves funding to build ‘Cop City’ despite fierce opposition

City council vote 11-4 to move ahead with police and firefighter training center despite significant pushback

The Atlanta city council early on Tuesday approved funding for the construction of a proposed police and firefighter training center, rejecting the pleas of hundreds of activists who spoke for hours in fierce opposition to the project they decry as Cop City".

Some Cop City opponents have faced unprecedented arrests during which police have accused them under a state domestic terrorism statute, prompting a legal challenge which argues that the protesters are being unduly targeted over their constitutionally protected free speech.