Campsite Media. A few miles from the glass spires of Midtown Atlanta lies the South River forest.
It has this very certain energy to it. It's land that's been through so much. There's a lot of trauma on that land, but also a lot of love and care that's been poured into that land.
In 2021 and 2022, the woods became a home to activists from all over the country.
I found a struggle worth fighting for.
Who gathered to stop the nearby construction of a massive new police training facility, nicknamed Cop City. There in the forest, they built a different community.
The forest occupation or things like that present a vision of a society where we can have what we need and support each other without being at each other's throats or being subservient to each other.
We were building something. We were building a community, and it felt alive, and anything seemed possible.
It was probably the happiest of everybody in my life.
Until one day, everything just shatters open.
At approximately nine o'clock this morning, as law enforcement was moving through various sectors of the property, an individual without warning shot a Georgia State Patrol trooper.
What I heard was a full clip unload. It was just a whole mess of shots just blasting off.
The individual who fired upon law enforcement and shot the trooper was killed in the exchange of gunfire.
From WNDYRI, Campside Media, and Tenderfoot TV, this is We Came to the Forest, a story about resistance.
The abolitionist mission isn't done until every prison is emptied and shut down until there's no more cops.
Love and fellowship.
It was a very intense time, but also a time that was filled with joy because people made it so.
And the lengths will go to protect the things we hold closest to our hearts. We got about 150 to 200 protesters that are rushing the officers now. Stop!
Stop! Stop! Stop!
Stop to attack and kill anybody that they encountered in the house.
Suspect is in there.
This shit just took a step off.
I'm Matthew Sher. Follow We Came to the Forest on the WNDY app or wherever you get your podcasts. You can binge We Came to the Forest early and ad-free right now by joining WNDY Plus in the WNDY app or on Apple podcasts.
They were so dedicated to that forest. They'd never want to leave. They never did.
When Vienna Forest comes to the South River Forest in Atlanta to protest the building of what critics call “Cop City,” she finds a community –– and a cause. But soon, the years-long fight between forest-dwelling activists and the backers of one of the largest police training facilities in the country will take from her everything she holds dear. From Wondery, Campside and Tenderfoot TV, “We Came to the Forest” is a modern story of love, loss, and what it means to put your body on the line for a cause.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.