Dozens of activists have been indicted for opposing the construction of a massive police facility outside Atlanta.

Dozens of activists have been indicted for opposing the construction of a massive police facility outside Atlanta.

Over 60 protesters have been indicted on RICO charges for their efforts to block construction of the massive police training facility known as “Cop City” outside Atlanta.

The indictment out of Fulton County court last Tuesday charges 61 protesters with violating Georgia’s Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act. Many are facing additional charges of domestic terrorism or money laundering. The indictment was handed up by the same grand jury that handed up the indictments against Donald Trump and his co-defendants, according to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, and is being prosecuted by Georgia Republican Attorney General Chris Carr.

Over the past year and a half, Georgia police have made dozens of arrests at the proposed site for Cop City, with charges ranging from alleged property damage and trespassing to domestic terrorism.

In May, Atlanta police arrested the organizers of the Atlanta Solidarity Fund, a bail fund for the protesters of Cop City. One of the fund’s organizers who was arrested, Marlon Kautz, had predicted in February that the state would level RICO charges at the protesters.

“We understand that this movement is as broad as society itself. It includes environmental activists, community groups, faith leaders, abolitionists, students, artists, and people from all over,” Kautz said in February.

“But police, prosecutors, and even Governor Kemp have been trying to suggest in the media and in court that the opposition to Cop City is actually the work of a criminal organization whose members conspire to commit acts of terrorism. In essence, they’re trying to concoct a RICO-like story about the movement.”

Kautz, along with fellow Atlanta Solidarity Fund organizers Adele Maclean and Savannah Patterson, is listed in the RICO indictment and is also facing an additional 15 counts of money laundering.

The date listed on the indictments is May 25, 2020, the day George Floyd was murdered by police officer Derek Chauvin in Minneapolis. Although this predates any Stop Cop City protesting, it’s possible that the attorney general’s office plans to link the Stop Cop City movement with the larger protests that followed Floyd’s death.

In June, Atlanta District Attorney Sherry Boston announced that her office would withdraw from criminal cases tied to the Cop City Protests, which the state’s Republican attorney general had leveled at protesters. Boston cited the domestic terrorism charges specifically and said that she and Attorney General Chris Carr had “fundamentally different prosecution philosophies.”

The new indictment out of Fulton County is the state’s latest attempt to suppress political protest and dissent, even in the wake of violent police brutality—and to push through the massive $90 million police facility, no matter the cost.

  • Dark Arc@social.packetloss.ggEnglish
    81·
    1 year ago

    As someone not familiar with the moment… is there any chance this isn’t politically motivated? Like, is there a potential genuine criminal element here?

    • Arystique@beehaw.org
      5·
      1 year ago

      So when looking at the charges the claim is that the individuals have been part of a criminal organization since George floyd was killed by the police.

      In order for this to be the case all individuals would need to of had a meeting before george floyd was killed where they planned out the crime, then afterwards one member would need to take an action to commit the crime. A good way ive seen it explained is : I and two others plan to rob a bank, we can talk about how its done, the materials we need, and what everyone will be doing now this is all legal and nothing can be done until someone purchases the materials or enacts on a part of the plan as when that happens it becomes a criminal conspiracy.

      Big issue. These people don’t know eachother. Now this could mean that someone brought them into a conspiracy unknowingly but that would require knowing atleast one member of the original conspiracy or there would be links between people who were brought in to those who started the conspiracy that however from my knowledge the people being charged here are simply everyone arrested for peacefully protesting Cop City (trespassing, and property damage are commonly used to unlawfully arrest those who peacefully protest as its easy to claim that it happened and hard to prove that it didn’t)

      Reason that it could be politically motivated. Building Cop city is an extremely unpopular decision that fully ignores the promise made to the community its in which was to make the area a park. The governor has made it a terroristic action to question or protest the park in any way which has led to the arrests made for domestic terrorism (it essentially boils down to kemp declared “stop cop city” a terrorist organization, anyone who protests cop city is then labeled as part of that group as the only defining characteristic of the group is protesting cop city.)

      This is what i know from the top of my head so apologies if there is anything incorrect.