61 ‘Stop Cop City’ protesters indicted on racketeering charges

Georgia Attorney General Christopher Carr announced the indictment of 61 “Stop Cop City” protesters on racketeering charges. The Stop Cop City movement, which has been ongoing for more than two years, is in protest of planned police and firefighter training facility in the Atlanta area.

Opponents of the facility have expressed concern that the training center will lead to greater militarization of the police. They also feared the construction of the facility in an urban forest will cause environmental damage.

Stop Cop City protests have veered into vandalism and violence at times. Earlier in 2023, a police car was set on fire during a protest in downtown Atlanta. In March, more than 150 masked protesters chased off police at the construction site.

“As this indictment shows, looking the other way when violence occurs is not an option in Georgia,” Carr said in a statement. “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. 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.”

Many of the 61 Stop Cop City protesters indicted for racketeering were already facing separate charges related to the protests. This includes:

• More than three dozen people already facing domestic terrorism charges in connection to violent protests
• Three leaders of a bail fund previously accused of money laundering
• Three activists previously charged with felony intimidation after authorities said they distributed flyers calling a state trooper a “murderer” for his involvement in the fatal shooting of a protester

“As alleged in the indictment, the defendants are members of Defend the Atlanta Forest, an anarchist, anti-police and anti-business, extremist organization,” Carr said at a Tuesday news conference. “We contend the 61 defendants together have conspired to prevent the construction of the Atlanta Public Safety Training Center by conducting, coordinating and organizing acts of violence, intimidation and property destruction.”

The indictment is the latest application of the state’s anti-racketeering or RICO law. It comes just weeks after the same law was used to indict former President Donald Trump and 18 others over an alleged conspiracy to overturn the 2020 election results in the state.