Thread by @antiracistsouth

THREAD 🧵

The connections btwn corporate funders of Cop City, police agencies & the U.S. military are so dense & multifaceted that it’s hard to keep track.

Here’s a quick snapshot of one fascinating “node” of power in APF’s Board: @ChickfilA, Trilith Studios & @CookerlyPR

Conservative billionaire owner Dan Cathy is so rich he has a “proxy” sit on the Atlanta Police Foundation Board on his behalf: his name is Evan Karanovich, and he is Dan Cathy’s “Lead Advisor” at @ChickfilA… he is also a Public Affairs Officer (PAO) in the Naval Reserves…

…(we’ll do a thread on Karanovich soon). For now it’s important to keep in mind that the history of police repression in the U.S. is DEEPLY tied to the U.S. military (see “Riotsville, USA” for more context). This makes Karanovich’s recent enlistment particularly interesting.

Naval Public Affairs Officers basically work hand-in-glove with psychological warfare and information operations units to help disseminate positive propaganda on behalf of the U.S. gov & military, and to counter any negative perceptions. KEEP THIS IN MIND as we unpack things…

Having a part-time PAO embedded in @ChickfilA’s highest halls of power is extremely useful given their specific audiences. But there’s another connection that makes this useful: Dan Cathy also owns Trilith Studios (former partner of @PinewoodStudios) where @MarvelStudios films.

Dan Cathy owns Trilith Studios (formerly called Pinewood Atlanta Studios while co-owned by @PinewoodStudios) and the CEO of Trilith ALSO serves on the Atlanta Police Foundation board. Frank Patterson (@FrankMPatterson) runs the studio that produced 12 of 22 @MarvelStudios films…

As CEO of Trilith Studios (formerly Pinewood Atlanta Studios) Frank Patterson sits on the APF board of directors along with Dan Cathy’s proxy, Evan Karanovich, who also lists himself as a former Public Affairs Associate for Trilith, the “company town” Cathy created south of ATL.

So @MarvelStudios films over 50% of their films at Trilith. Meanwhile, it’s increasingly clear that Marvel works closely with the Pentagon to produce propaganda for the U.S. military in exchange for access to expensive & cutting edge military equipment. movieweb.com/marvel-pentago…

“Standard policy states that in order for your film to receive any sort of military funding or equipment, it must first be read by the Pentagon…”

WandaVision was one such propaganda piece filmed at Trilith in recent years... https://t.co/TjV24ZXfintheguardian.com/commentisfree/…

Of course- accessing the latest tech (& consulting for accurate/realistic writing) is not simply limited to the U.S. military but also the FBI, CIA and even powerful local police agencies. There is a long history of Hollywood studio collaboration w/ government propagandists.

The collaboration btwn Hollywood & local police agencies most recently came up as rumors circulated that Ryan Millsap’s Shadowbox Studios was trying to cut a deal with APF to be able to access the future Cop City campus & APD equipment for filming... #StopCopCity

Back to Frank Patterson— this guy is embedded in APF and Atlanta Police programs. Apparently Patterson even gave a speech at the 2019 Atlanta Police Academy graduation ceremony…??? Using that “Marvel Clout” to gas up the new recruits on some “hero” bullsh*t…

#StopCopCity. https://t.co/FQtIza5XtU

https://twitter.com/atlanta_police/status/1176681606360309763

Back to Trilith Studios. As part of Cathy’s investment he also started building a “company town” of sorts called Trilith, GA. It’s supposed to be a self-contained town for “creatives” next door to the studio. Guess who runs PR for the town of Trilith? Cop City funder: @CookerlyPR

The reason we learned about Cookerly is that the town of Trilith was so anti-Black that multiple Black families were forced to make public claims about their experiences… and @CookerlyPR DENIED ALL OF IT.
buzzfeednews.com/article/briann…

In response, Stephen Brown, a “Trilith resident who handles PR for the Town”, said “Trilith is a place for everyone, & this story is incomplete, inaccurate & mischaracterizes the mission we devote ourselves to daily in providing a supportive and collaborative place,”

Stephen Michael Brown is the President of @CookerlyPR, a PR company who is also a backer of Cop City & is represented on the APF board of directors by Carol Cookerly.

Brown has also managed PR campaigns for other Cop City funders like @CocaCola & @HomeDepot. 👀

#StopCopCity

TL;DR— conservative billionaire owner of @ChickfilA Dan Cathy has at least 3 Atlanta Police Foundation directors on his payroll, 2 are actively working w/ U.S. military on propaganda efforts. This is just scratching the surface of ruling class connections to military + policing.