Atlanta, Georgia - The Georgia Bureau of Investigation has announced it will not bring charges against cops who shot and killed an Indigenous queer activist who was protesting plans to build a massive, $90-million police training complex in Atlanta's Weelaunee Forest.

"The use of lethal (deadly) force by the Georgia State Patrol was objectively reasonable under the circumstances of this case," the Georgia Bureau of Investigation claimed in a Friday press release.

"No criminal charges will be brought against the Georgia State Patrol Troopers involved in the shooting of Manual Paez Teran."

Manuel Esteban Paez Terán, the 26-year-old environmental activist known by friends and comrades as Tortuguita, was killed by police during a militarized raid at a Stop Cop City camp last January.

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Tortuguita and fellow activists had been calling for an end to plans to construct a $90-million police training facility in the Weelaunee Forest just outside the Atlanta city limits – a move they say will increase instances of police brutality and exacerbate environmental damage in the area.

Police claimed Tortuguita was wielding a gun and had fired at an officer during their raid, though body camera footage of the alleged attack was nowhere to be found.

An autopsy revealed Tortuguita had no traces of gunpowder on their hands, which were raised when they were shot 14 times.

The decision not to press charges against Tortuguita's killers has sparked outrage among Stop Cop City activists and supporters.

The Vote to Stop Cop City Coalition, a group pushing for a ballot referendum on the construction project, said in a statement, "From the start, the state's response to Tortuguita's murder has been to lie and cover up the facts. Today's announcement is just the latest in a long line of changing stories and withholding evidence."

"Tortuguita’s memory and the memories of all those stolen by police killings demand that we all continue the collective struggle for a future without state violence," the statement continued.

"In their name, we fight to Stop Cop City and build a better world."