DHS Response To Defend The Atlanta Forest (DTAF)

To Whom It May Concern:

Pursuant to the Freedom of Information Act, I hereby request the following records:

Any and all information the Department of Homeland Security may have related to advocacy, cooperation, coordination, or liaison with law enforcement in the state of Georgia or monitoring and responding to developments related to activity and incidents stemming from law enforcement responses to "Defend the Atlanta Forest" (also known as "Stop Cop City").

This request encompasses any law enforcement communication, including specifically but not limited to, records related to the matter of whether to designate Defend the Atlanta Forest (also known as "Stop Cop City") as "domestic violent extremists," "domestic extremists," or "domestic terrorists." The records may also respond to claims by law enforcement or Georgia state officials that the Department of Homeland Security had designated Defend the Atlanta Forest as "domestic violent extremists" in order to support charging activists or protesters who were arrested under a Georgia state terrorism law. Or the records may pertain to the decision by Georgia Governor Brian Kemp to authorize a response by the Georgia National Guard.

Upon information and belief, Defend the Atlanta Forest (also known as "Stop Cop City") is a loose configuration of individuals from several groups and jurisdictions that have had a presence in the South River/Weelaunee Forest and intend to prevent the construction of both a training compound for law enforcement as well as the construction of
a soundstage for Shadowbox Studios, which is a film production company.

Nothing in this request should be construed as a request for materials that may be classified. Only material that is unclassified and covered by the Freedom of Information Act is sought through this request.

Given the high amount of public interest, as demonstrated by the extensive coverage in the news media (CBS News, NBC News, CNN, Forbes, Fox News, Newsweek, POLITICO, PBS, etc), I ask that any and all fees be waived. In the event that there are fees, I would be grateful if you would inform me of any and all charges in advance of fulfilling my request.

The requested documents will be made available to the general public, and this request is not being made for commercial purposes. I would prefer the request be filled electronically by email attachment if possible.

Thank you in advance for your anticipated cooperation in this matter. I look forward to receiving your response to this request within 20 business days, as the statute requires.

Sincerely,

Kevin Gosztola

This is a follow-up for the FOIA request that the United States Department of Homeland Security assigned the following reference # 2023-HQFO-00834 on February 6, 2023.

In November 2016, the Department of Homeland Security incorporated a new regulation into how the agency responded to Freedom of Information Act requests. See 81 Fed. Reg. 83625 (Nov. 22, 2016). The regulation imposed a new requirement: “Requesters must describe the records sought in sufficient detail to enable DHS personnel to locate them with a reasonable amount of effort.”



Furthermore, DHS outlined, “A reasonable description contains sufficient information to permit an organized, non-random search for the record based on the component's filing arrangements and existing retrieval systems. To the extent possible, requesters should include specific information that may assist a component in identifying the requested records, such as the date, title or name, author, recipient, subject matter of the record, case number, file designation, or reference number.”



In the event of the Department of Homeland Security's failure to complete this request, and for the purposes of potential future litigation, let it be noted that it is the opinion of the requestor that this is an onerous requirement imposed on requestors to reduce the burden for FOIA officials in the DHS, who must operate with a classification system populated with millions upon millions of files.

If a requestor abandons their request because it is “too broad,” that means a DHS FOIA official is able to close the request thereby curtailing the DHS FOIA backlog and reducing their workload.



Identifying specific search terms does not mean that a DHS FOIA officer will complete the request in a timely manner. Yet it is worth updating this FOIA request to see if someone who is terribly underpaid and sorely under-resourced may eventually fulfill the request.



The following shall be considered an update to # 2023-HQFO-00834. The updated request seeks records from the Department of Homeland Security’s Office of Information and Analysis, including the Intelligence Watch and Warning Division.



Please search for records from November 1, 2022, to February 13, 2023, that contain the following search terms:

—Defend the Atlanta Forest

—DTAF (the acronym for Defend the Atlanta Forest)

—Stop Cop City

—#StopCopCity (hashtag on social media)

— City of Atlanta Public Safety Training Center

—Public Safety Training Center

—PSTC (the acronym for Public Safety Training Center)

Upon information and belief, Defend the Atlanta Forest (also known as "Stop Cop City") is a loose configuration of individuals from several groups and jurisdictions that have had a presence in the South River/Weelaunee Forest and intend to prevent the construction of both a training compound for law enforcement as well as the construction of a soundstage for Shadowbox Studios, which is a film production company.

Nothing in this updated and narrowed request should be construed as a request for materials that may be classified. Only material that is unclassified and covered by the Freedom of Information Act is sought through this request.

Given the high amount of public interest, as demonstrated by the extensive coverage in the news media (CBS News, NBC News, CNN, Forbes, Fox News, Newsweek, POLITICO, PBS, etc), I ask that any and all fees be waived. In the event that there are fees, I expect as a media requester to be charged 10 cents per page for duplication; the first 100 pages will be free. I agree to pay up to $25.00 and expect to be contacted before any further fees are accrued.

The requested documents will be made available to the general public, and this request is not being made for commercial purposes. I would prefer the request be filled electronically by email attachment if possible.

Thank you in advance for your hard work and anticipated cooperation in this matter. I look forward to receiving your response to this updated and narrowed request in a timely manner

Sincerely,

Kevin Gosztola