A group of at least 61 protesters has been charged with RICO charges for attempting to stop the construction of Atlanta’s controversial “Cop City.”
Activists have been trying to block construction of the police and fire training area since its announcement in 2021 by then-Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms.
The city approved funds for the $90 million project in June, and the facility would cover 85 acres of forestland southeast of Atlanta.
A number of acts of violence have taken place at the proposed site over the past year, including protesters setting off fireworks, throwing Molotov cocktails at police officers and destroying equipment.
According to the report, a total of 61 people have been charged with violating the law against extortionists and corrupt organizations. The Atlanta Journal Constitutionwith some facing additional charges of domestic terrorism and money laundering.
A group of at least 61 protesters has been charged with RICO charges for attempting to stop construction on Atlanta’s controversial “Cop City.”
Activists have been trying to block construction of the police and fire training area since its announcement in 2021 by then-Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms.
Several acts of violence have occurred at the site over the past year, including protesters setting off fireworks, throwing Molotov cocktails at police officers and destroying equipment.
The sweeping suit was filed in Fulton County Court last Tuesday. They are being prosecuted by the Georgia Attorney General’s Office and most of them are not from out of state.
Protesters have argued that the $90 million project will irreversibly destroy the local environment and also strengthen the police force.
Demonstrations turned violent in downtown Atlanta when opponents of the Cop City plans set fire to a police car and smashed the windows of businesses in January.
It came following the fatal police shooting of Manuel Paez Terán, a 26-year-old activist known as ‘Tortuguita’ who had camped in the woods of the proposed project.
But the police claim that Terán shot at them first.
The project has faced passionate opposition since its announcement, with the decentralized ‘Stop Cop City’ movement urging protesters from across the country.
DeKalb County District Attorney Sherry Boston announced in June that she would retire from prosecuting cases related to the training center due to disagreements in “prosecution philosophy” with the Georgia Attorney General’s Office.
The case has been assigned to Judge Kimberly Adams of the Fulton County Superior Court.
The charges come after three organizers who run the Atlanta Solidarity Fund were arrested on May 31 for money laundering and charitable fraud.
Marlon Scott Kautz, 39, Savannah D. Patterson, 30, and Adele Maclean, 42, were arrested in a dramatic raid on their home.
Prosecutors charged the three activists with money laundering and charitable fraud, saying they had used some of the money to fund violent acts by “forest defenders.”
Warrants cite allowances for expenses including “gasoline, forest clearing, bins, Covid-19 rapid tests, media, yard signs.”
Heavily armed riot police entered the site in March after rioters set fire to a construction vehicle and a watchtower
The photo shows the charred remains of what appears to be a police vehicle at the scene
The activist groups are protesting the construction of an 85-acre police training center planned in the wooded areas southeast of Atlanta, Georgia.
The trio are leaders of the Atlanta Solidarity Fund, which is backing the movement against the planned center, dubbed “Cop City” by opponents.
It is part of the Network for Strong Communities and has issued bail bonds and other legal remedies to protesters.
Protesters camped at the site at least last year, and police said they had caused damage and attacked law enforcement and others.
Numerous incidents of violence and vandalism have been associated with the “Stop Cop City” movement, including a protest in downtown Atlanta in January in which a police car was set on fire.
In March there was an attack in which more than 150 masked protesters chased police at the construction site and set fire to equipment before fleeing and blending in with the crowd at a nearby music festival.
These two cases have led to more than 40 people being charged with domestic terrorism, although prosecutors have so far struggled to prove that many of those arrested were actually those who took part in the violence.
In addition, activists across the US have been smashing windows and damaging offices as part of an ongoing protest against the proposal to build the training facility in a forest outside of Atlanta.
Members of the Stop Cop City movement have taken credit for vandalism in 19 states over the past nine months, targeting companies such as Amazon, Porsche and Wells Fargo.
The group has said they are targeting businesses based on their ties to the Atlanta Police Foundation and the proposed facility known as Cop City.
Opponents of the controversial training center in Atlanta are trying to put the issue to a vote.
The 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals granted the city a temporary reprieve on a July 27 federal judge’s order allowing non-residents of Atlanta to collect signatures and extended the deadline by 60 days for the petition that requires 58,231 signatures.
City officials approved funding for Cop City in June in an 11-4 vote on June 6.
Hundreds of activists occupied City Hall and spoke vehemently for hours against the project, which they say will destroy the local environment and militarize the police.
Protesters gather in the atrium of Atlanta City Hall in June to protest the planned police training center
For about 14 hours, residents took to the stage again and again to denounce the project
Opponents of the project say it would be a gross misuse of public funds to build the massive facility in a large urban forest in a poor, largely black area.
For about 14 hours, residents took the stage to denounce the $90 million project, saying it would be a gross misuse of public funds to build the massive facility in a large urban forest in a poor, mostly black area in southeastern Atlanta.
But the councilors agreed to approve $31 million in public funds for the construction of the site, as well as a provision requiring the city to pay $36 million ($1.2 million annually for 30 years) for the use of the facility.
The rest of the funding for the project would come from private donations to the Atlanta Police Foundation.
Mayor Andre Dickens said the passing of the budget resolution “marks an important milestone in better preparing our fire, police and emergency responders to protect and serve our communities.”
He added that “Atlanta will be a national model for police reform with the most progressive training and curriculum in the country.”
City officials say the new 85-acre campus would replace inadequate training facilities and help address problems in hiring and retaining police officers, which worsened after nationwide protests against police brutality and racial injustice three years ago.
But opponents, aided by activists from across the country, say they fear this will lead to greater militarization of the police force and that its construction will exacerbate environmental damage.