At least 61 protesters have been indicted in Georgia on racketeering charges for their actions against the construction of a police and firefighter training facility in Atlanta, derisively called “Cop City” by critics.
The 109-page indictment (pdf) announced by Republican Attorney General Chris Carr on Sept. 5, was handed up by a grand jury on Aug. 29. It charges all 61 defendants—most of whom are not from Georgia—with having violated Georgia’s Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations (RICO) Act. The law, enacted in 1970, is intended as an enhanced tool to curb organized crime activity.
According to the indictment, 61 members of group called Defend the Atlanta Forest (DAF) had jointly plotted to halt the construction of the Atlanta Public Safety Training Center via coordinated acts of violence, intimidation, and vandalism in Fulton County, elsewhere in the state of Georgia, and other states.
The $90 million Atlanta Public Safety Training Center is being built in a forested 85-acre area of DeKalb County in the outskirts of Atlanta called the South River Forest site. Keisha Lance Bottoms, the mayor at the time, announced the construction plans in 2021.
The DAF group and other critics backing the “Stop Cop City” effort have expressed environmental concerns over the training site, and claimed it could lead to greater militarization of police.
On its website, the group said its mission is to protect the South River Forest site, which it describes as “the lungs of Atlanta.”
“The movement to prevent the development of Cop City is a fight against hundreds of years of racialized violence and ecological destruction,” the website says.
In total, the 61 defendants are alleged to have engaged in 225 incidents to prevent the training site from being built. The alleged crimes include criminal trespass, vandalism, throwing objects including Molotov cocktails at police, and posting threats on the internet.
Many of those indicted had prior charges, with the current RICO charges adding the potential for more severe sentences that can be added on top.
Among the 61, there are more than three dozen people already facing domestic terrorism charges. There are three leaders of a bail fund accused of money laundering, as well as three activists charged with felony intimidation after they distributed flyers about a state trooper calling him a “murderer” for having been involved in the fatal shooting of a protester.
Others among the group have also been charged with attempted arson in the first degree, Mr. Carr told a press conference.
Authorities Praise Indictment
In a separate statement, Mr. Carr that the indictment shows that “looking the other way when violence occurs is not an option in Georgia.”
“If you come to our state and shoot a police officer, throw Molotov cocktails at law enforcement, set fire to police vehicles, damage construction equipment, vandalize private homes and businesses, and terrorize their occupants, you can and will be held accountable,” he said. “We will not waver when it comes to keeping people safe, enforcing the rule of law, and ensuring those who engage in criminal activity are vigorously pursued and aggressively prosecuted.”
Republican Gov. Brian Kemp has praised the indictment.
“My top priority is and always will be keeping Georgians safe, especially against out-of-state radicals that threaten the safety of our citizens and law enforcement,” he said in a statement.
Clearing of the forested area of the planned training center has already begun, but a petition has circulated in Atlanta demanding a halt to the project pending a referendum.
Activists leading the ongoing referendum effort against the project condemned the charges, calling them “anti-democratic.”
“Chris Carr may try to use his prosecutors and power to build his gubernatorial campaign and silence free speech, but his threats will not silence our commitment to standing up for our future, our community, and our city,” the Cop City Vote coalition said in a statement.
‘Domestic Violent Extremists’
The U.S. Department of Homeland Security said in a bulletin posting in May that since the spring of 2022, “alleged [domestic violent extremists] in Georgia have cited anarchist violent extremism, animal rights/environmental violent extremism, and anti-law enforcement sentiment to justify criminal activity in opposition to a planned public safety training facility in Atlanta.”
It added, “Criminal acts have included an alleged shooting and assaults targeting law enforcement and property damage targeting the facility, construction companies, and financial institutions for their perceived involvement with the planned facility.”
The DAF group, according to the indictment, is an “unofficial, Atlanta-based organization that frames itself as a broad, decentralized, autonomous movement that uses advocacy and direct action to stop the ‘forest [from being] bulldozed in favor of police and sold out to Hollywood.’”
According to the indictment, the DAF group has three main ideologies. The first is an anti-police ideology that frames all law enforcement officers as violent. The second is one that strives to protect the environment at all costs, giving it the same rights as humans and using that to justify violence in defending it. The third ideology supports anarchy.
“As a result of all three ideologies joining forces, the group has been able to quickly recruit nationwide support of extremists, including out-of-state extremists that have traveled to Georgia,” the indictment reads. “Many of these extremists embrace violence and anarchy, and they use the forest as a guise for their violent agenda.”
Links to Anarchist Movements
The indictment notes that DAF “frequently uses symbols associated with anarchist movements.”
These include “the capital letter ‘A’ surrounded by a circle, a raised clenched fist, Antifa flags and symbols associated with anti-fascist movements, graffiti which includes these symbols.”
According to the indictment, other messages used by the group in their graffiti include “Defend the Atlanta Forest,” “Stop Cop City,” “Kill Cops,” “All Cops are [expletive]” (ACAB), and “1312” the numerical equivalent of ACAB.
“Additional graffiti which encourages violence against law enforcement is visible throughout the Atlanta area, and it has appeared in other large cities across the country,” the indictment reads.
A separate part of the indictment noted that DAF shares their event invites on social media like Twitter and Telegram, and that other groups—especially Antifa—spread these posts, which has attracted many out-of-state violent anarchists and extremists to travel from outside Georgia to join the DAF movement.
“While these individuals may not share a pro-environment ideology, Defend the Atlanta Forest knowingly reaps the benefits of these violent non-Georgians by using violence, threats, and property damage to intimidate businesses, government, and civilians, thus promoting the anarchy movement,” the indictment said.
Reuters and The Associated Press contributed to this report.
From The Epoch Times
