Activists Plan to Meet Georgia Governor Brian Kemp In NYC

Ecological Villain and Georgia Governor Brian Kemp arrives in New York City on September 20th to receive a “trade award” from the Korea Society at the Plaza Hotel.

On Wednesday, September 20th, at 6 p.m., activists will gather in front of the Plaza Hotel in Manhattan, where Georgia Governor Brian Kemp will accept an international trade award from the Korea Society. Though Governor Kemp may deserve an award for his service to global capitalism, he is a true villain to humans and all living beings of the Earth.

It is a curious choice of The Korea Society to host Governor Brian Kemp in NYC on Wednesday since he has a storied history with the voting rights of the AAPI community.

Kemp has stood firmly on the side of those deepening our ecological and humanitarian crises. This January, his goons from the Georgia Bureau of Investigation assassinated Manuel “Tortuguita” Terán during a raid on the encampment of activists determined to protect Weelaunee, the largest urban forest in the United States. All evidence from independent investigations makes it appear Tortuguita was unarmed and surrendering when shot 57 times.

Kemp ordered a State of Emergency for Georgia the following week after Terán’s murder, filling the streets with the National Guard. Since then, his Attorney General, Chris Carr, has targeted 61 activists without probable cause, explicitly weaponizing the criminal legal system to stifle free expression and consolidate police power. Attending a concert, running a bail fund, or peacefully distributing flyers are not crimes. Both the RICO and domestic terrorism charges are being used to criminalize dissent. The language of the RICO indictments is explicit that these prosecutions are chiefly political and designed to incarcerate more political prisoners as the City of Atlanta poisons Black communities and bulldozes acre after acre of forest.

We support those who fight white supremacy, the murderous police, the destruction of the Earth, and the universally despised political class represented by Governor Kemp. Weelaunee Defense Society demands all charges against forest defenders be dropped. Victor Puertas, unlawfully arrested in March at the South River Music Festival, remains in ICE detention and should be immediately freed. In addition, Francis “Frankie” Carrol should be immediately freed from Fulton County Jail, where they have been incarcerated since December 2022.

We join US Representatives Cori Bush, Rashida Taleib, and Ed Markey in calling for an independent investigation into the death of Terán.

We join the people of Atlanta who have demanded in public hearings that Cop City never be built. Recently, over 116,000 people have signed a petition for a referendum to be placed on the November 2023 ballot to decide the fate of the militarized police training facility. The City government’s fight against the referendum fully displays its illegitimacy.

We also join hundreds of organizations and activists in North America and worldwide calling for Weelaunee to stay a forest and for Cop City never to be built.

Lastly, given that the absurd RICO charges refer to its start date as March 25, 2020, the day George Floyd was murdered, we demand that all who remain incarcerated or facing charges from the courageous George Floyd Uprisings in Georgia be released immediately. -Weelaunee Defense Society NYC