0:00

In the depths of an Atlanta forest,

0:02

a clash between activists and authorities

0:04

ended in tragedy. But the official

0:07

narrative doesn't add up. We came

0:09

to the forest. A new investigative

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podcast from Wondery, Campsite Media, and

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Tenderfoot TV, peels back the layers

0:16

of secrecy surrounding a deadly confrontation

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that shook a community to its

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core. Through exclusive recordings and never

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before released eyewitness accounts. Host Matthew

0:26

Shear exposes the hidden truths behind

0:28

a nighttime shootout that left one

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activist dead and countless lives

0:33

forever changed. As we dig

0:35

deeper, we uncover a web

0:37

of conflicting testimonies, missing evidence,

0:39

and allegations of a cover-up

0:41

reaching the highest levels of

0:43

law enforcement. From the idealistic

0:46

dreams of young environmentalists to

0:48

the complex motivations of local

0:50

officials, this story challenges our

0:52

understanding of justice. activism and

0:54

the lengths people will go

0:57

to protect what they believe in.

0:59

What actually happened in the forest?

1:01

I'm about to play a clip from

1:03

We Came to the Forest. Follow We

1:05

Came to the Forest on the Wundery

1:08

Appa wherever you get your podcast.

1:11

your name? Campsite

1:15

Media On

1:20

a chilly evening in January, an

1:22

activist named Vienna Forest goes

1:24

on a date with her

1:26

partner in Atlanta. It's been a

1:28

long, rough month for Vienna, the

1:30

longest in some ways she can

1:33

remember, and she spent much of it

1:35

lying low, crashing on the floor at

1:37

a friend's house. Her partner, who

1:39

goes by tortigita, that's a little

1:42

turtle in Spanish, has decided that

1:44

it's time for her to get out

1:46

of the house. And we

1:49

went to... get Vietnamese and

1:51

Mexican food. Just got a

1:53

whole buffet. Tortigato is like

1:56

at their peak. They're just

1:58

so happy. They quit cigarettes.

2:00

They are just really doing

2:03

it. Good. A couple hours

2:05

later, Vienna and Tort pack

2:07

into a sedan along with

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two other friends and drive

2:12

across town to a movie

2:14

theater called The Starlight. The

2:16

Starlight's pretty famous in Atlanta.

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It's one of the last

2:21

real drive-ins in the country.

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So it's that old-school neon

2:26

sign out front. Me and

2:28

tort, save on tickets hit

2:30

under a blanket. And the

2:33

person manning the gang, caas,

2:35

they're like next time. tell

2:37

your friends to hide their

2:39

legs better because torts legs

2:42

were sticking out from under

2:44

the blanket that they let

2:46

us go through. The couple

2:49

stays there together, curled up

2:51

in the back seat, hands

2:53

laced together in the dark,

2:56

even as the movie gets

2:58

underway. They were always just

3:00

like so when I felt

3:02

comfortable with. They were, I'm

3:05

feeling bad, I can lay

3:07

my head on their chest

3:09

and they'd comfort me. The

3:12

film that night at the

3:14

starlight is Megan. The one

3:16

about the overprotective malignant doll.

3:19

The modern day chucky, if

3:21

you will. Took a while

3:23

for me to remember what

3:26

the movie was because I

3:28

wasn't paying attention to the

3:30

movie so much. But yeah.

3:32

As the movie winds down,

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Vienna turns to her partner,

3:37

watching them. They seem like

3:39

they do have care in

3:42

the world, or at least

3:44

they didn't show it. They

3:46

had this sort of resolve

3:49

about things. and they just,

3:51

it seemed like they were

3:53

just ready for whatever was

3:56

to come. About 36 hours

3:58

after the date at the

4:00

drive-in, in an event that

4:02

will permanently, violently alter the

4:05

trajectory of Vienna's life, a

4:07

joint task force of law

4:09

enforcement officers sweeps through a

4:12

forest a few miles to

4:14

the Southeast. This task force,

4:16

made up of dozens of

4:19

officers from several different agencies,

4:21

has been assigned to clear

4:23

the woods of activists. We're

4:26

camping there in an attempt

4:28

to stop the construction of

4:30

the land. largest police training

4:32

facility in the country. These

4:35

officers are nervous. They've been

4:37

warned in a briefing about

4:39

the possibility of booby traps

4:42

and even improvised explosive devices.

4:44

But they're doing their best

4:46

not to let it show.

4:49

As they press forward, hacking

4:51

up big intense with knives,

4:53

they joke about what they'll

4:55

say if they happen to

4:58

find one occupied. There's some

5:00

more laughter and then everything

5:02

just kind of shatters open.

5:05

Oh shit! Is this target

5:07

purpose? Surprised, unnerved, the officers

5:09

tense up. drop their hands

5:12

to their side arms. The

5:14

mood now is adrenalineized, sharp-edged.

5:16

The squadron of cops begin

5:19

to move towards the sound

5:21

of the gunfire. A very

5:23

faint transmission comes over the

5:25

radio from just across the

5:28

forest. Man died. From Wundery,

5:30

Campside Media and Tenderfoot TV,

5:32

I'm Matthew Shear. And this

5:35

is We Came to the

5:37

Forest. This

5:52

is episode one.

5:54

Paradise Found. Binge

6:05

all all episodes of to the to

6:07

the Forest, add free on Wondery Plus,

6:09

join Wondery Plus in the Wondery

6:11

app or on Apple Apple Podcasts.