0:00

In the depths of an

0:02

Atlanta forest, a clash between

0:04

activists and authorities ends in

0:06

tragedy. But the official narrative

0:08

doesn't add up. I'm Matthew

0:10

Shear, and on my new

0:12

podcast, we came to the

0:14

forest. From Wundery, Campside Media,

0:17

and Tenderfoot TV, we peel

0:19

back the layers of secrecy

0:21

surrounding a deadly confrontation that

0:23

shook a community to its

0:25

core. Through exclusive recordings and

0:27

never before released eyewitness accounts,

0:29

We expose the hidden truths

0:31

behind a shootout that left

0:34

one activist dead and countless

0:36

lives forever changed. As we

0:38

dig deeper, we uncover a

0:40

web of conflicting testimonies and

0:42

missing evidence. From the idealistic

0:44

dreams of young environmentalists to

0:46

the complex motivations of local

0:48

officials, this story challenges our

0:51

understanding of justice, activism, and

0:53

the lengths people will go

0:55

to protect what they believe

0:57

in. What actually happened in

0:59

the forest? I'm about to

1:01

play a clip from We

1:03

Came to the Forest. Follow

1:05

We Came to the Forest

1:07

on the Wundery app or

1:10

wherever you get your podcasts.

1:22

On a chilly evening in January,

1:24

an activist named Vienna Forest goes

1:26

on a date with her partner

1:28

in Atlanta. It's been a long,

1:30

rough month for Vienna, the longest

1:33

in some ways she can remember,

1:35

and she spent much of it

1:37

lying low, crashing on the floor

1:39

at a friend's house. Her partner,

1:41

who goes by tortigita, that's a

1:43

little turtle in Spanish, has decided

1:45

that it's time for her to

1:48

get out of the house. And

1:50

we went to... get Vietnamese and

1:52

Mexican food, just got a whole

1:54

buffet, was in tortiguetos like at

1:56

their peak, they're just so happy,

1:58

they quit cigarettes. They were just

2:00

really doing good. A couple hours

2:03

later, Vienna and Tort pack into

2:05

a sedan along with two other

2:07

friends and drive across town to

2:09

a movie theater called The Starlight.

2:12

The Starlight's pretty famous

2:14

in Atlanta. It's one of the

2:17

last real drive-ins in the country.

2:19

So there's that old school neon

2:21

sign out front. Me and tort

2:23

to save on tickets hit under

2:26

a blanket. And the person manning

2:28

the gang. Cata's, they're like, next

2:30

time, tell your friends to hide

2:32

their legs better, because towards the

2:34

legs were sticking out from under

2:36

the blanket, but they let us

2:38

go through. The couple stays there

2:41

together, curled up in the back

2:43

seat, hands laced together in the

2:45

dark, even as the movie gets

2:47

underway. They were always just like,

2:49

so when I felt comfortable with.

2:51

They were, I'm feeling bad, I

2:53

can lay my head on their

2:55

chest, and they'd comfort me. The film

2:57

that night at the Starlight is

3:00

Megan. The one about the

3:02

overprotective malignant doll. The modern

3:04

day chucky, if you will.

3:07

Took a while for me to remember

3:09

what the movie was because I wasn't

3:11

paying attention to the movie

3:13

so much. But yeah. As the movie

3:16

winds down, Vienna turns to her partner,

3:18

watching them. They seem like they do

3:20

have care in the world, or at

3:22

least they didn't show it. They had

3:25

this sort of resolve about

3:27

things and they just, it seemed

3:29

like they were just ready for

3:31

whatever it was to come. About

3:33

36 hours after the date at the

3:35

drive in, in an event

3:37

that will permanently, violently alter

3:39

the trajectory of Vienna's life,

3:41

a joint task force of

3:43

law enforcement officers sweeps through

3:46

a forest a few miles

3:48

to the southeast. This task

3:50

force, made up of dozens

3:52

of officers from several different

3:54

agencies, has been assigned to

3:56

clear the woods of activists.

3:58

We're camping there in an...

4:00

attempt to stop the

4:02

construction of the largest

4:05

police training facility in

4:07

the country. These officers

4:10

are nervous. They've been

4:12

warned in a briefing

4:15

about the possibility of

4:17

booby traps and even

4:20

improvised explosive devices. But

4:23

they're doing their best

4:25

not to let it

4:28

show. As they press

4:30

forward, packing up big

4:33

intents with knives, they

4:35

joke about what they'll

4:38

say if they happen

4:40

to find one occupied.

4:43

Sir, good question. Can

4:46

you get the fuck

4:48

out? Please? There's some

4:51

more laughter, and then

4:53

everything just kind of

4:56

shatters open. Oh shit.

4:58

drop their hands to

5:01

their side arms. The

5:04

mood now is adrenalineized,

5:06

sharp-edged. The squadron of

5:09

cops begin to move

5:11

towards the sound of

5:14

the gunfire. A very

5:16

faint transmission comes over

5:19

the radio from just

5:22

across the forest. Man

5:24

died. From Wondery, Campside

5:27

Media and Tenderfoot TV,

5:29

I'm Matthew Shear. And

5:32

this is We Came

5:34

to the Forest. This

5:54

is episode one.

5:56

Paradise Found. Binge

6:07

all episodes Came to the

6:10

the Forest ad-free on

6:12

Wondery Plus. Join Join Wondery

6:14

Plus in the Wondery Wondery on

6:16

Apple Apple podcasts.