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- [00:00]
Matthew Scher
Wondery subscribers can binge all episodes of we came to the forest ad free. Join Wondery in the Wondery app or on Apple podcasts Campsite Media.
- [00:22]
Darren Sheerbaum
There it is.
- [00:23]
Matthew Scher
Hi, Cheetos. How are you doing? How you doing? The Herbert T. Jenkins Atlanta Police Academy is a dilapidated building on the south side of Atlanta, about six miles from the site of the forest defender camp and the new training facility. Not long ago, I went with Darren Sheerbaum, the chief of the Atlanta Police Department, on a tour of the place.
- [00:46]
Matthew Johnson
Well, you're seeing an early 1950s elementary school that was repurposed into an adult training facility for adult learning. And so you see old hallways, crumbling plaster. You see ceiling tiles that don't exist, wires hanging out.
- [01:06]
Matthew Scher
Sherbomb has agreed to this interview on one condition. Two really. That the interview be short and that it take place at the old training center, the one that Cop City will be replacing.
- [01:17]
Matthew Johnson
Sorry it's so cold in here, by the way.
- [01:19]
Matthew Scher
It is cold in here, isn't it? It's not hard to understand why. If you accept that police in Atlanta should have a decent place to train to improve their skills, then one look at the Herbert T. Jenkins building will be enough to make you understand that, yeah, an upgrade is definitely in order.
- [01:36]
Matthew Johnson
I think citizens would be surprised and shocked as this where they train their police officers, because what are we saying about the officers to the officers, about the citizens they're protecting or the role that they have in society?
- [01:47]
Matthew Scher
I follow Sherbomb and his security detail through a tangle of darkened corridors coated in mildew. The floors are a mess of rat droppings and cockroach carcasses. Spent bullet casings, leftovers from simulated fire drills, crunch underfoot. So this is totally out of use now. It is.
- [02:06]
Matthew Johnson
We had to move because you can no longer drink the water. And so we had to move to another location, another temporary location.
- [02:12]
Matthew Scher
A temporary location until the new facility is complete and then everything will move over to the new facility.
- [02:16]
Matthew Johnson
Everything will.
- [02:17]
Matthew Scher
We head right down another hallway and into what was once a locker room. In the open shower chamber, the beige tile is coated with some sort of green sludge that seems to be growing up the walls from the floor or else seeping down from the ceiling. It's truly impossible to tell.
- [02:38]
Matthew Johnson
Sewage was backing up into the building. We had a lot of issues, and so we were told by the health department that we could no longer shower, that the water was unsafe.
- [02:47]
Matthew Scher
I think you guys should rent this for zombie movies. This facility. On our way back to the exit, Sherbomb makes clear he's heard the reservations about the new facility, all of them. The chosen site is, as he sees it, still the best place in the city for the complex, accessible, relatively affordable, abutting a park, yes, but also a jail and industrial lots.
- [03:13]
Matthew Johnson
So this was already an area that was used for police training. Our range is still there. Our range is still active. We're just going to move it from one part of that area to another part.
- [03:22]
Matthew Scher
As for the militarization thing, we've heard.
- [03:24]
Matthew Johnson
There'S going to be army tanks and helicopters landing. We own helicopters. They're very small. They're used to find people and to be able to support operations throughout the city. We own no army tanks whatsoever. We will never be militarized. We are equipped to respond to whatever dangers may befall our city.
- [03:39]
Matthew Scher
Here. Sheerbomb stops and turns towards me.
- [03:42]
Matthew Johnson
If people truly believed that their police were going to be used to repress them, they would be seeing me right, right there next to them, holding the sign that says I oppose that as well. So if you truly believe that, then I really want to have a conversation with you and I want to encourage you to meet an Atlanta police officer and see the compassion and the courage that I see each and every day.
- [04:01]
Matthew Scher
The tour winds to a halt near the entrance before Sherbomb climbs back into his suv. I asked the question I've been waiting to ask about the January raid, about Tort's death. What do you make of the aftermath of that and what do you make of the shooting itself? I mean, it's been a while. I know the investigation is sort of, sort of more or less wound down on the GBI's end. Do you have an opinion about it?
- [04:24]
Matthew Johnson
You know, it's a very tragic outcome when someone uses force against law enforcement. That is the last thing we want to see whenever we go to work. We want to be able to protect the community without having to resort to force. It's very fortunate that that was the outcome. But sometimes these situations are outside our control and others take actions that cause our officers to have to act.
- [04:42]
Matthew Scher
At this. His PR rep steps in. I want to make it clear that.
- [04:46]
Darren Sheerbaum
Was Georgia state trooper.
- [04:48]
Matthew Johnson
Sometimes when we say police. Yeah, because some states, state police want.
- [04:53]
Matthew Scher
To make sure that differentiation is there. Absolutely. I know it was a task force with a lot of different law enforcement. APD officers may have helped plan and execute the January raid, but none pulled the trigger of the guns they killed Tord. The APD wants to underscore that. Do you think there will continue to be arrests there will be.
- [05:13]
Matthew Johnson
You cannot use criminal acts to put people in fear and not think that you're going to be held accountable. And individuals may be able to avoid that accountability for a period of time, but you're not going to be able to to keep doing what you're doing and not be held accountable and to be exposed to the citizens of the state of who is inciting this fear among us.
- [05:30]
Matthew Scher
It sounds honestly a lot like a promise. Either that or a threat. If you're a woman over 40 dealing with hot flashes, insomnia, brain fog, moodiness or weight gain, you don't have to accept it as just another part of aging. The experts at MITI Health know all these symptoms can be connected to the hormonal changes of menopause, and MITI can help with safe, effective, FDA approved solutions. Covered by insurance, 91% of MITI patients get relief from symptoms within just two months. Book your virtual visit today@joinmidi.com youm sign up for something, Forget about it. After the trial period ends, then you're charged month after month after month. The subscriptions are there, but you're not using them. In fact, 85% of people have at least one paid subscription going unused each month. Thanks to Rocket Money, you can see all your subscriptions in one place and cancel the ones you're not using anymore. Now, boom. You're saving more money. Rocket Money is a personal finance app that helps find and cancel your unwanted subscriptions, monitors your spending, and helps lower your bills so you can grow your savings. Rocket Money has over 5 million users and has saved a total of $500 million in canceled subscriptions, saving members up to $740 a year when using all of the app's premium features. Cancel your unwanted subscriptions and reach your financial goals faster with Rocket Money. Go to RocketMoney.com Wondery today. That's RocketMoney.com Wondery RocketMoney.com Wondery From Wondery, Campside Media and Tenderfoot TV, I'm Matthew Scher and this is We Came to the Forest. This is Episode five Breakdown.
- [07:51]
Darren Sheerbaum
I Came Here to Stop Cop City. What did you all come here to do?
- [08:03]
Matthew Scher
In the first week of March of 2023, Matthew Johnson stands in a large field in the South River Forest, watching as a growing crowd swells around him. The occasion is a massive music festival that Matthew has helped organize, an event that he hopes will bring together all the disparate parts of the Stop Cop City movement. From environmental and church groups to Atlanta social justice organizations, an Event that will send a message we're rebuilding something, and.
- [08:34]
Darren Sheerbaum
We'Re rebuilding something in a powerful way. He had the momentum and the clear moral authority because they killed Torrid. As bad as that sounds, it is what it is. They were obviously so dead wrong, and it was becoming readily apparent to a lot of people. A lot of people. Viva, Viva Tortuguita.
- [08:55]
Matthew Scher
Viva, Viva Tortuguita. To get the whole thing off the ground, Matthew has been working with a group called the Sonic Defense Committee, which handles the booking and setup for an event they are calling the South River Music Festival. Still, a lot of the logistical work is left to Matthew.
- [09:13]
Darren Sheerbaum
So that means the dumpsters, the porta potties, like all the supplies that we've somehow managed to get on this land that we're technically kind of trespassing on, had my name on it, so I have, like, a lot of skin in the game.
- [09:27]
Matthew Scher
He's legally exposed is what he's saying. If things go south, he's going to be the one in trouble. For similar reasons, activists like Vienna are not in attendance. They can't risk it, not with the weight of the domestic terrorism charges hanging over their heads, not with the memories of the December raid and the January shootings still fresh in their minds. And yet, scanning the edges of the field, Matthew sees no sign of law enforcement.
- [09:54]
Darren Sheerbaum
Nothing. The cops at this point are very hands off, very hands off with all of this.
- [10:01]
Matthew Scher
The festival is slated to spill across two days. On the first evening, a Saturday, a number of indie bands play on a stage draped with a massive white banner. It reads, quote, in the eyes of the state, all who resist white supremacy, colonialism, environmental racism, gentrification and police militarization are domesticated terrorists. Matthew wanders around the grounds, does a bit of bartending, and at 3am after the last act, exits the small stage at the front of the clearing, he heads to bed. Next morning, he wakes up early, ready to do it all again.
- [10:40]
Darren Sheerbaum
It was a Beautiful day. Low 70s, slight breeze. It's the perfect music festival day.
- [10:49]
Matthew Scher
With no arrests on, the size of the crowds increase exponentially on Sunday. The word is out that this is a safe space. The police are staying back.
- [10:59]
Darren Sheerbaum
It was at least a thousand, right? And we had not had numbers like that before. This was big and it was getting bigger.
- [11:07]
Matthew Scher
Their families on the grass, kids running around them in loops. There's a big bouncy castle. And then the first troubling sign, the first indication that things are about to get bad.
- [11:20]
Darren Sheerbaum
I get this flyer that says that people are gonna march to the Old prison farm site and everything. And then somebody else comes to speak to me directly. At this point, they indicate, not explicitly say, but it was quite clear what the nature of this operation was going to be. Bang, bang, smash, smash.
- [11:40]
Matthew Scher
The general idea, as Matthew understands it, is to destroy some of the construction equipment left in the woods to show that the move can still fight back even after the death of one of its leaders, which. No, Matthew says, please, no. It's not just a matter of him having skin in the game. As he puts it. If people pop off, it will ruin what he's tried so hard to build. A peaceful gathering, a demonstration of support from all the different groups that oppose Cop City.
- [12:11]
Darren Sheerbaum
I think that there was a lot of legitimate grief and a lack of ways for people to express grief and literally dealing with the state that is covering up a murder. There are people that are very close to Tortaguita that are living this reality and, like, reasonably so, very angry. So, I mean, not saying that things aren't justified, but just saying tactically, this ain't smart.
- [12:40]
Matthew Scher
If nothing else, he begs his fellow activists, think of the safety of the festival goers.
- [12:47]
Darren Sheerbaum
People have to know what they're getting themselves into. You can't pitch something as a family day with a bouncy castle and then embed yourself in that population after a big bang, bang, big smash, smash. Like, you can't do that. That, as far as I'm concerned, is using people as meat shields that I'm deeply uncomfortable with.
- [13:10]
Matthew Scher
He might as well be speaking to a wall. A few hours later, a group of about 150 protesters return to the field, having swapped out their street clothes for camo or all black attire. Most wear masks. Some are carrying shields fashioned from cut up barrels and rope.
- [13:30]
Darren Sheerbaum
It looks like people are, you know, ready for action. People start to, like, chant, viva, Viva Tortuguita. And like, go around the crowd, I think, and a way to engage more people to come.
- [13:43]
Matthew Scher
Viva, Viva Tortugita. Soon the group has disappeared in the direction of the construction site. Matthew watches them go, reasonably certain of what's about to go down. As it turns out, he's not the only one watching. Yeah, we're recording right now. As the protesters advance, every step is being captured by police helicopters chattering overhead. I've since seen this footage and the level of detail is absolutely startling. This is military grade camera technology that can bring faces into focus from a distance of hundreds of yards. Technology that can track the movements and speeds of people on the ground and overlay it with data from Mapping software. We got about 150 to 200 protesters coming up the key road.
- [14:36]
Darren Sheerbaum
They only have a few officers out.
- [14:38]
Matthew Scher
Here, so if we can get them to kind of step it up. The police traffic grows more animated. The activists are right on the lip of the construction site now. A helicopter sweeps low for a second look and transmits the results back to command. So if we can get as many officers as we can. They're rushing to officers. The crowd of protesters uses a power line trail in the woods as their path. As they get closer and closer to the construction site, the police traffic grows more animated. The helicopter's cameras catch the protesters shooting off fireworks and hurling objects in the direction of a group of police officers assigned to protect a cluster of construction equipment. They're breaching the fence. Hold up, back up, back up. They're throwing rocks.
- [15:28]
Vienna Forest
Being blown.
- [15:29]
Matthew Scher
The officers, outnumbered, retreat across the street. With the unit guarding the equipment dispersed, the protesters swarm over the bulldozers and vehicles. Like a black and camo tie. Got an ATV that's on fire right underneath that power line. Also, it's fully engulfed. And they're setting fire to another piece of equipment. Now we're gonna have a large excavator that's on fire as well. There's a fuel tank right next to a bulldozer that's on fire. Back at the music festival, Matthew spots something slipping over the horizon, a massive plume of smoke. What he doesn't know is that the protesters are now retreating back towards the clearing, having accomplished their mission and apparently unaware that the helicopters are still tracking their movement. The majority of the crowd is crossing the riverbed. Now. If you guys encounter anybody that's wet, soaking wet, they're probably going to be with this group. At around 6:20pm the protesters return to the festival grounds. It's now dusk and the moon is rising overhead, trying to blend in with the rest of the crowd that's already out here. There's a concert out here. Majority of them are coming out of the wood line, changing their clothes or they changed when they were inside. Most of them had on all black, but now they're coming out with different colored shirts and shorts and stuff like that.
- [16:56]
Darren Sheerbaum
At this point, I am, like, still where the music festival is, and I, like, sit down at the welcome table to just, like, gather my bearings for a second with, like, a good friend and partner. And I say, God, I don't know, Seemed like a really bad escalation. And I think this is really about to bite.
- [17:14]
Matthew Scher
And that's when Matthew sees It the glow of blue lights, the activists are in for a surprise. The changes of clothing hasn't helped them, not with the helicopters tracking them. And now a contingent of law enforcement has been dispatched to place them under arrest.
- [17:31]
Darren Sheerbaum
And literally, as I'm saying, the S on ass. See all these state troopers coming in, full on, rifles coming through the just like coming, just shit's about to take off.
- [17:44]
Matthew Scher
Some 30 police officers, several different agencies roar onto the festival grounds from there. Everything happens so fast.
- [17:54]
Darren Sheerbaum
I'm like, well, we're in the thick of it now.
- [17:57]
Matthew Scher
Officers are crisscrossing the field on foot, chasing people through the grass and trees. Don't you fucking move. Roll over.
- [18:07]
Darren Sheerbaum
Get your ass on the ground now. They got one team hand, you hear me? Hey, pig, what are you tweeting for?
- [18:15]
Matthew Scher
Marlon Kotz from the Atlanta Solidarity Fund is there videoing some of the arrests and distributing jail support info to the detained activists. You want to give your name and birthday? We can let jail support know to help you out. To Marlon, to Matthew, it appears that these arrests are random. In fact, part of what's happening is that descriptions of the protesters are being relayed from the air to the officers on the ground, who are instructed to keep an eye out for muddy clothes, muddy boots indicating to law enforcement participation in the sabotage of the construction equipment. There's a white male covering his face, wearing a ball cap with an eye tattoo.
- [18:58]
Vienna Forest
You got one coming out wearing a.
- [19:00]
Matthew Scher
Black backpack, gray shirt, green shorts. Yeah, detain him. White T shirt, black backpack. Running back to you. Back at the festival's welcome table, which is being held by a few friends, Matthew attempts to make a stand, arms crossed. As he does, a state trooper approaches sizing him up. Remember, Matthew's a tall dude, broad through the shoulders, he's strong.
- [19:23]
Darren Sheerbaum
I remember, like that cop, he looked at me for like one second, then just like, looked down. I was like, fuck this. Zoomed around me with his gun and went to bully the, like, much smaller people that were sitting at the welcome table. And so as soon as he passes me and goes towards them, you just see everybody, like, at the welcome table, you know, like, chairs fly and stuff.
- [19:46]
Matthew Scher
Matthew's got an opening. He bolts and heads off to find the other festival organizers. Somehow the band on the stage is still playing even as police fight their way through the crowd.
- [19:59]
Darren Sheerbaum
I see this one state trooper chasing after three people. One brown person, whom I know his name is Victor, and then two white people. At a certain point, like the two white people verge right, Victor goes left, and it was just so effortlessly watching this cop choose to go left after Victor and shooting Victor with a Taser, And I'm like, holy shit. That's where I need to be.
- [20:30]
Matthew Scher
The incident is captured on camera by another attendee.
- [20:34]
Darren Sheerbaum
And at this point, I, like, walk up and I am incredibly close to this cop. I've extended my arms all the way out. Like, I'm just like a big letter T to make sure that it's very clear. I'm not creating any type of, you know, aggression or anything.
- [20:52]
Matthew Scher
Here. The person filming the scene chimes in. This is way too much for us, dude.
- [20:58]
Darren Sheerbaum
So I'm talking to him with my arms straight out, saying, hey, look, please calm down. What's happening here? Why is this person even targeted? Because he ran. I said, what do you mean? Everybody's running? Yeah, cuz you chasing what you expect?
- [21:15]
Matthew Scher
Everybody started running.
- [21:17]
Darren Sheerbaum
My dog was running as he's choking this person. I'm like, look, he kind of let him up and he's like, well, he needs to put his hands behind his back. I'm like, look at where his shoulder is. Look at where his shoulder is, man.
- [21:28]
Matthew Scher
He can't put his hand behind his back.
- [21:31]
Darren Sheerbaum
He physically couldn't obey the command that the officer was giving him at this point. And people are starting to freak out. Hey, hey, what are you teasing him for? I'm starting to get ants because I'm watching this cop continue to choke him. And at this point, I'm trying to figure out what my next move is going to be because I'm not about to sit here and watch somebody go unconscious.
- [21:54]
Matthew Scher
You're okay, man. You're okay. There's no need.
- [21:58]
Darren Sheerbaum
Every second that he's continuing to hurt Victor, I'm having to make the calculation of what type of day this is about to be. For real. This is just where I was at. Because remember, I've literally already lost one friend. Not about to watch that happen to somebody else. I can't. I wouldn't be able to live with myself by a lot. So, like, people are starting to, like, freak out. And I'm like, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa. Because his taser's already out.
- [22:31]
Matthew Scher
Oh my goodness. We're trying to get the taser away. And they're just, this is way too much.
- [22:37]
Darren Sheerbaum
It's just becoming a very tense situation. And I remembered looking at Victor dead in the eyes, and I said, you gotta take this. L. But we'll work it out. That was the best that I could tell him because this copy, he's the only person endangering his life.
- [22:56]
Matthew Scher
Matthew then looks at the arresting officer and sees a mirror of his own expression.
- [23:01]
Darren Sheerbaum
And I could see it in his eyes. He's operating as if his life is in danger. Like I saw that. Like I saw that quite clearly. He was operating as if he was being attacked. He was the one that was probably most scared in that interaction. I saw it in his eyes. Then a couple more state troopers, like, come up behind my back aiming a taser at me. And at this point I'm just like, fuck off. You know.
- [23:30]
Matthew Scher
Cell phone video ends.
- [23:31]
Darren Sheerbaum
And then they're like, you gotta get out of here or we're gonna arrest you too. And I'm like. And then I realized they were kind of serious. I started to like pounce away. They pretty much watched me until I got in my car and dipped.
- [23:47]
Matthew Scher
By the end of the day, 23 festival goers will be arrested. Matthew is not one of them. For days he waits for the knock on the door. It never comes. If the police know about his role in planning the festival, they don't do anything about it. Still, his worst fears have been realized. What had been planned as a show of solidarity, a demonstration of the resilience, resilience of the movement after Towards Death has ended in utter and complete disaster.
- [24:29]
Vienna Forest
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Matthew Scher
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- [24:41]
Vienna Forest
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- [25:18]
Matthew Scher
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- [26:33]
Darren Sheerbaum
Need to be happy.
- [26:35]
Matthew Scher
And to be happy is hard in this circumstance. So we have to make our effort.
- [26:44]
Darren Sheerbaum
To be happy, because that's what Manuel wants. We have to be happy.
- [26:50]
Matthew Scher
And in his spreading the ashes, I.
- [26:55]
Darren Sheerbaum
Try to keep that energy.
- [26:57]
Matthew Scher
You know, up until that point, I'd been in a state of shock more than anything. Just kind of been numbing myself up until that point, since my time in solitary, because how I survived solitary was disassociating and numbing myself. Dalkis comes over to me and puts a little bit of ash in my hand. I actually felt tort in my hand as ash. That. That's when it really, like, my body just released and just. I was just bawling, crying. Vienna gets in her van and heads back to Atlanta, where she finds her friends in the movement still grappling with the aftermath of the festival.
- [27:44]
Vienna Forest
It's like, rumors flying and people are, like, calling jail support and bugging us for information, and, like, Everybody's panicking.
- [27:52]
Matthew Scher
Adele McLean goes by Earthworm. She's in her 40s with short cropped brown hair and glasses. Along with her partner, Marlon Kotz, she's one of the founders of the Atlanta Solidarity Fund. She and Marlon helped get Vienna released. Now they're trying to do the same with the new batch of arrestees. And it's not easy.
- [28:13]
Vienna Forest
I mean, when there's a set of arrests of even, like, half a dozen people, that's already a shit show, let alone 23.
- [28:21]
Matthew Scher
Earthworm and marlin and Savannah, their roommate and the third leader of the Saul Fund, have grown accustomed to working small. The SOL Fund was born small, and it stayed relatively small even through the mass arrests during the Black Lives matter protests in 2020.
- [28:39]
Vienna Forest
It had just been like this tiny, bare bones, like, skeleton crew trying to, like, build the parachute as we're, like, falling out of the plane or something. It wasn't very sustainable. But when the DTRs started happening, we spun up the jail support operation a huge amount and, like, started doing more trainings and more, like, volunteer recruitment. So by March, we had a whole bunch of new volunteers.
- [29:09]
Matthew Scher
It helps. From their house in Atlanta, the Saul Fund Leaders manage through March and April to post bond for many of the arrested activists, activists who would otherwise likely have remained incarcerated for months on end. To Earthworm and Marlin and Savannah, this is righteous work and also relatively safe work. Historically, bail funds like theirs have been protected under national and state laws, which is why the events of May 31st of 2023 come as such a shock.
- [29:45]
Earthworm
It happened, I think, around 8am Maybe. I woke up to the sound of the door being broken down by a battering ram.
- [29:54]
Vienna Forest
They, like, broke down the front door, and then they were shouting at us.
- [29:59]
Earthworm
Hopped out of bed quickly. Looking out the side window here, I saw that there were SWAT police at every entrance to the house.
- [30:08]
Vienna Forest
They had the riot gear. They had the riot shields and then helmets, and they had long guns.
- [30:15]
Earthworm
They had come prepared to attack and kill anybody that they encountered in the house. They are yelling at us to keep our hands in the air and to come out of the house.
- [30:30]
Matthew Scher
For approximately a decade, Earthworm, who was partially paralyzed during a bike accident, has used a walker or crutches to get around.
- [30:39]
Vienna Forest
Like, I wasn't going to come out with my hands up because I can't walk with my hands up. So I was like, my hands are going to be on the walker.
- [30:47]
Earthworm
Of course, I complied. I tried to keep my hands visible. I understood all too well that I was in a situation that could result in me, me getting shot because I knew what had happened to Tort. I took a lot of care to make sure that I didn't do anything that could come across as threatening or be used as an excuse to kill me. They didn't tell us anything. They didn't show us a warrant. They didn't explain why we were being arrested.
- [31:13]
Vienna Forest
I said, I have a spinal cord injury, I don't have good bladder control, and I need to use the bathroom. They, like, strapped me into a gurney. I kept asking for a bathroom, like, over and over. And so eventually, like, I didn't have enough bladder control and peed myself in the. Sitting there in their ambulance stretcher.
- [31:34]
Earthworm
They took each of us, put us in separate police cars. They brought us downtown to the city jail for interrogation, and then they took us to the DeKalb County Jail, where they would hold us while they attempted to make the case that we should be denied bail, which is the same thing that prosecutors have done for every activist that they've arrested that they see as connected to the movement.
- [32:04]
Matthew Scher
All three of the Sol Fund heads had been arrested before, but this was a far more terrifying experience, especially for Earthworm.
- [32:13]
Vienna Forest
They sent me to the medical wing, which is just this, like, pit of despair. You're in this cell 24 hours a day. You can't, like, communicate with the other prisoners. You're just like, in these concrete cells, there's nothing to read, nothing to look at, nothing to do, no one to talk to. Being in solitary for four days did a pretty severe job on my, like, mental health.
- [32:43]
Matthew Scher
Upon release, Marlin, an earthworm in Savannah, are charged with charity fraud and money laundering, both felonies. The theory underlying the charges is that being part of a group supporting protesters who are accused of crimes is itself a crime. It's a seismic thing, these charges. Marlon and earthworm know that they will have immediate replacement repercussions for the Saul Fund, which must halt doing bail and bond work. But there are national implications, too. This is an unprecedented effort by the state to quash an integral part of protest work, to quash protest itself.
- [33:23]
Earthworm
City officials, state officials, police spokespeople had been making very clear that they intended to criminalize anybody who they saw as their political opposition. And that included us. Like, you know, we had heard kind of veiled threats from police and prosecutors against us. So on this level, it was, you know, not entirely a surprise that something like this would happen. But on the human level, it's just totally shocking and devastating.
- [33:56]
Vienna Forest
I mean, in the, like, immensity of charges that they're coming after us with and the lies that they're telling about us, I mean, they're putting us at the center of this whole thing.
- [34:06]
Earthworm
It is mental, I think, just inevitably leaves you reeling. It inevitably feels kind of like surreal and impossible until it's happening.
- [34:36]
Matthew Scher
A few months after the raid on the Saul Fund, flanked by representatives from the FBI, the gbi, and the apd, Georgia attorney general Chris Carr holds a press conference in Atlanta. As I've said for months, the state of Georgia would not tolerate the repeated acts, acts of violence and destruction that have occurred in attempt to stop the construction of the Atlanta public safety training Center. Today I am pleased to announce the latest development in our vigorous pursuit of the suspects. Our office took this case to a Fulton county grand jury on August 29th. Based on the evidence we presented, the grand jury has returned an indictment charging 61 people with violation of the Georgia racketeer influenced and corrupt organizations act. Some are also charged with domestic terrorism, attempted arson in the first degree, and money laundering. RICO laws are always broad things. That's the whole point. Prosecutors can use them to get at every part of an alleged criminal operation like the mafia from top to bottom. But Georgia's RICO law is especially broad and it's been wielded that way. In Georgia, for example, the RICO law was employed against public school teachers in a standardized test cheating scandal. It was used against alleged street gangs like ysl, and it was even used against President Trump, who was accused of conspiring to overturn election results in the state. Now Carr will push that broadness to its limits. Here Rica will be used to dismantle all the different layers of the Stop Cop City movement, including the Saul Fund, as alleged in the indictment. The defendants are members of Defend the Atlanta Forest, an anarchist, anti police and anti business extremist organization. We contend these 61 defendants together have conspired to prevent the construction of the Atlanta Public safety Training center by conducting, coordinating and organizing acts of violence, intimidation and property destruction. Suddenly, Vienna Forest, Marlin, Earthworm, Savannah, they're no longer just alleged criminal actors. Now, according to the state, they're part of an organized criminal enterprise. And the RICO stuff isn't just a matter of phrasing. Anyone found guilty of a RICO violation can face an additional 20 years in prison. To Matthew Johnson, who had evaded arrest after the music festival and who watched the Carr press conference, the weight of all this is almost too much to bear.
- [37:35]
Darren Sheerbaum
I had just narrowly missed the RICO indictment. Like, shit looked bad and somehow I'm stepping out of it. It was hard for me to trust much of anything. That really took a toll on my mental health.
- [37:50]
Matthew Scher
Matthew has struggled with similar issues before. For a time he took prescription medications, but he didn't like how slug it they made him feel. He'd coped largely through yoga, through his organizing work, by surrounding himself with supportive friends. Now those mechanisms no longer feel like enough.
- [38:10]
Darren Sheerbaum
I'm starting to, like, just reflect on the things that I've seen over the past few months. Thinking about March 5th and thinking about how bad of a move that was strategically. Also the fact that you had the least police presence ever. On the same time, thinking back to like, how many like, disingenuous engagements I've had and how many different times I had seen people act in ways that I would say were so boneheaded that it almost seemed like they wanted us to lose. And so in the back of my mind, I think that the seeds of the idea that I had been set up had started to come into my mind. Felt like everything was alright. And it was. Until it wasn't. I just like hit a wall where I just told my boss of the church, look, I think I am Having a manic episode. I need to just get the fuck out for a while.
- [39:14]
Matthew Scher
He travels aimlessly for a while, hoping to find solace in a different setting. Solace doesn't come. He's still spiraling, still in despair.
- [39:24]
Darren Sheerbaum
Came home like wee hours of Friday night, maybe slept for a little while, but I was just, I was not in a good place. I tried to propose to a partner that I had recently broken up with. Just like full blown manic episode.
- [39:44]
Matthew Scher
Around this time, Matthew leaves a vehicle at a local tire shop for repairs. When he gets the call, the installation is complete. He walks over to the shop, a two mile trek. He's wearing a black T shirt and maroon pants and he's carrying a full gallon jug of water.
- [40:02]
Darren Sheerbaum
There was something about that particular tire express that just was charged with weird energy. But I remember coming to the store that day and the guy that I didn't get along with well was like, hello, Mr. Johnson, welcome. We got you all set up.
- [40:22]
Matthew Scher
In Matthew's memory. The guy gives him a key, but it's the wrong key.
- [40:27]
Darren Sheerbaum
It's a Mercedes Benz key. I was like, seriously? And he walks away. And at this point, like, once again, I'm on the edge right then. So I'm like, fuck it, I'll take this key later.
- [40:40]
Matthew Scher
Surveillance footage from the shop will show him heading out to the lot and clicking the button on the fob. The lights on a nearby Mercedes blink in response.
- [40:50]
Darren Sheerbaum
I'm like, all right, I'm getting in this car. Walk over to the car, back it out. I remember looking to my left and there were two cars like coming down and they just immediately, like they just stopped on a dime. It was just like, I'm like in like weird dream state right now. Just in a very weird place where it's very hard for me to distinguish what was real.
- [41:17]
Matthew Scher
Matthew makes a left out of the lot, his mind reeling at an incredible clip.
- [41:22]
Darren Sheerbaum
And then I'm like, what the fuck? Are you in a stolen car right now? Is this even. This can't be fucking real. Like I'm just completely like, mind blown. This sea germinated. This can't be real. And the only way for me to wake up is to do something that gets me out of the dream. So I looked at the ceiling, pressed the gas pedal as hard as I could. I just went forward.
- [41:52]
Matthew Scher
The Mercedes roars towards a line of vehicles stopped at the nearest light and smashes into a white pickup truck, sending it airborne across oncoming traffic. The truck rolls four times, colliding with an oncoming sedan before somersaulting, crashing into a light pole and settling on its side. The Mercedes keeps going, pinging off two other vehicles until it two squeaks to a halt.
- [42:24]
Darren Sheerbaum
That impact will sober you the fuck up quick. This was not a dream. This was not a drill. And I have God knows, done what to anybody else. Like, I just have no idea. I'm just horrified. And I realized that I had just made the worst fucking mistake of my entire life.
- [42:48]
Matthew Scher
Matthew surveys the wreckage around him, dumbfounded. Four cars in various states of destruction. Astoundingly, though, no one is seriously hurt, including Matthew.
- [43:01]
Darren Sheerbaum
And at this point, think I'm in hell. I literally thought I died and landed in hell. Like, I gather myself, I just like, look out. I'm like, oh shit, I've hit all these cars and I just like see the car in front of me with some liquid leaking out. I thought that, I don't know, something was about to blow up or something.
- [43:20]
Matthew Scher
He jumps out of the car. The airbag didn't deploy and his face had smashed into his thumb on the steering wheel. He's bruised and battered and one eye is swollen shut. Confused, scared, he sprints down the middle of the usually busy road, now gnarled with traffic from the accident. By this point, several Atlanta police officers are on the scene. Hey, me. Hey. The cops yell towards Matthew, who is walking away from them. Hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey.
- [43:54]
Darren Sheerbaum
Stop.
- [43:54]
Matthew Scher
They catch him, tackle him and cover. I'm turning around.
- [44:04]
Darren Sheerbaum
Very strange sounds came out of my mouth. It was almost like I was speaking in tongues. It was very weird. I don't know what to make of it. I'm just telling you what happened was laying down and I thought that I would never be able to get back up. I mean, I was like dazed.
- [44:20]
Matthew Scher
Matthew's arrested and taken to the DeKalb County Jail, the same facility where Vienna Forrest had been incarcerated the previous December. He spends three days behind bars before bonding out. His charges are heavy theft, reckless driving and hit and run. All felonies, plus several other traffic violations.
- [44:43]
Darren Sheerbaum
In a flash, thrown away. A future promise muted. A lot of life chances in one moment.
- [44:50]
Matthew Scher
Matthew's arrest quickly hits the local news where his involvement with the Stop Cop City movement is emphasized. 33 year old Matthew Johnson, no stranger to our cameras, he has been on multiple times opposing that project. But tonight he's in some serious trouble. That's because police say he stole a Mercedes right there from that business. Matthew is promptly fired from the Episcopal Diocese of Atlanta. His roommate asks him to move out. No one seems to want him around. They're scared of him. He thinks of what he might be capable of. But he does have one place he can turn. The Park Avenue Baptist Church, a liberal house of worship with close ties to the Defend the Forest movement. Move into the church. The pastors there suggest there's a room upstairs above the sanctuary. Put a roof over your head and when you're feeling better, you can join the ministry staff There. In his drafty new bedroom, Matthew spends a succession of sleepless nights tossing and turning in bed, staring up at the ceiling.
- [45:56]
Darren Sheerbaum
This particular point in my life is the first real struggle with faith that I've ever had. If I believe that God had been leading me this whole time, right, I felt like I was like guided back to Atlanta, like this was the place I needed to be after I got out of grad school. I came here, like on a whim. Nothing. Like, turned down, like a really solid job doing, like, ministry work because I felt compelled to be in this city again for some reason or another. And I came here, like, with nothing but a hope and a prayer, you know, linked up and just found myself in all these particular places and positions where I had to live into my values. Felt like God was leading me this whole time. And then to have this massive crash makes me wonder what was actually leading me in the first place. Then if I am right and it was God, shit, what else does God have planned for me?
- [47:15]
Matthew Scher
Planned not only for Matthew, but for the other forest defenders as well. That's coming up on the final episode of We Came to the Forest. If you like We Came to the Forest, you can binge all episodes ad free right now by joining Wondery in the Wondery app or on Apple Podcasts. Prime members can listen ad free on Amazon Music. Before you go, tell us about yourself by filling out a short survey@wondery.com survey if you have a tip about a story you think we should investigate, please write to us@wondery.com tips we came to the Forest is a production of Wondery, Campside Media and Tenderfoot tv. The series is hosted by me, Matthew Scher, and is written and reported by me and Tommy Andres for Campside Media. Our producers are Abacara Don and Henry Lavoy. Additional production assistants from Timothy Pratt, John Root, Aaliyah Papes, Johnny Kaufman and Jamie Albright. Sound design and mix by Garrett Tiedemann. Our theme is by Mondo Boys, original music by Makeup and Vanity Set and Garrett Tiedemann. Our studio engineers are Jimmy Guthrie at Arcade 160 and Seth Cohen at Seth Coe Sound Fact checking by Aaliyah Papes Tommy Andres is the Executive Producer Producer. Special thanks to David Peisner for Wondery. Our Senior producer is Lata Pandya. Coordinating Producer is Sierra Franco Development Producer is Olivia Weber Consulting by Cassius Adair of Sylveon Consulting. Executive producers are Vanessa Gregoriadis, Josh Dean, Adam Hoff and me, Matthew Schermann for Campside Media. Executive producers are Donald Albright and Payne Lindsay for Tenderfoot tv. Executive producers are Nidri Eaton, George Lavender, Marshall Louie and Jen Sargent for Wondery. What if your partner developed 21 new identities? Or you discovered that your friend who helped you through the darkest times was actually a conniving con artist? Or what if you began seeing demons everywhere inhabiting people around you, including your son? What would you do? I'm Whit Misselbine, the creator of this Is Actually Happening, a podcast that brings you extraordinary true stories of life changing events told by the people who live them. In our newest season you'll hear even more intimate first person accounts of how regular people have overcome remarkable circumstances. Like the man who went to jail for 17 years for accidentally shooting the person who tried to save his life. To a close friend of the infamous scam artist Amanda Riley. These haunting accounts sound like Hollywood movies, but I assure you, this is actually happening. Follow this Is Actually Happening on the Wondery app or wherever you get your podcasts. And you can listen to this Is actually Happening ad free on Wondry.