We’re in an unprecedented rollback of civil liberties. States are passing laws to outlaw protests and direct action, charging non-violent protesters with “domestic terrorism” and legalizing the running over of people blocking traffic. State surveillance of activists has increased dramatically. Police budgets are getting astronomical increases to further militarize the state. In Atlanta, in the Stop Cop City campaign, police assassinated a forest defender, Tortuguita, who had their hands up and then tried to claim self-defense.

To put this all in context, we talk with investigative journalist and author Will Potter (@will_potter). We discuss the Stop Huntington Animal Cruelty campaign, the Earth Liberation Front, the taming down of climate actions in the 2010s and how the police state ignored right wing terror groups in the same period.

We also discuss the role of the FBI and the liberal corporate media in going after radical movements, how Cop City is shifting things and where popular culture fits into the story.

Bio//
Will Potter is a thought leader and investigative journalist whose work has focused on social justice and environmental movements, and attacks on civil rights post-9/11. He’s the author of “Green Is the New Red: An Insider’s Account of a Social Movement Under Siege,” that exposed the criminalization of nonviolent protest groups by the FBI.

Currently, he’s a Distinguished Journalist in Residence and Civil Rights Fellow with the University of Denver Animal Law Program.

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Outro// "Joe McCarthy’s Ghost" by the Minutemen

Links//
+Will’s website: https://willpotter.com

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This is a Green and Red Podcast (@PodcastGreenRed) production. Produced by Bob (@bobbuzzanco) and Scott (@sparki1969). “Green and Red Blues" by Moody. Editing by Issac.