A nationwide movement protesting a police training center in Atlanta and a pipeline in the Appalachian Mountains brought its message and its actions to Tucson. Tucson Police arrested three protestors after two downtown bank branches were vandalized Sunday night.
By Monday, the windows were boarded up and the spray paint removed, but protestors say they will continue to take action against corporations they consider to be supporting police or projects that threaten the environment, KOLD reports.
Shattered glass, broken windows, and words spray painted on buildings carried a message Sunday night in downtown Tucson, with “no cop city” written to reference a police training center in Atlanta, and a name, Tortuguita, a protester who was killed last year after opening fire on Georgia trooper in Weelaunee Forest near Atlanta. A trooper was wounded.
“We reject the idea that increased police presence equates to enhanced safety,” said Sam Bloom, a member of Tucson-based Splinter Collective, during a press conference Monday morning to present their message and address the arrests of three protestors.
“We are calling on PNC to stop funding fossil fuel infrastructure in the Mountain Valley Pipeline. We are calling on Wells Fargo to sever all ties with the Atlanta Police Foundation,” said Sam Beard, an environmental advocate participating in Monday’s press conference.
Protestors said that Tucson is as good a place as any to make their message known, and that
