Court Appearance for Individuals Charged with Racketeering in Georgia’s ‘Stop Cop City’ Case

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Approximately 60 individuals indicted on racketeering charges in connection with demonstrations against a proposed law enforcement training complex in the vicinity of Atlanta were present in court this past Monday. Concurrently, a congregation of supporters demonstrated outside the courthouse.

The ongoing protests, spanning over two years, oppose the facility opponents have termed “Cop City.” In August, Georgia’s Attorney General, Chris Carr, enacted a comprehensive indictment utilizing the state’s anti-racketeering legislation against the demonstrators, branding them as “militant anarchists.”

Groups such as the American Civil Liberties Union alongside demonstrators have criticized the indictment, accusing Carr, who is affiliated with the Republican Party, of imposing unduly severe charges in an attempt to suppress a movement that has gained traction among environmentalists and those opposed to police practices nationally.

Out of the 61 indicted individuals expected for arraignment—a process where charges are officially presented in court—57 were in attendance. They were organized into smaller groups and appeared before Judge Kimberly Esmond Adams of the Fulton County Superior Court throughout a period of three hours. All of them chose to waive their arraignment.

Absent from the proceedings were four defendants. One is reportedly in France, with an uncertain address for correspondence. Another is detained under federal immigration authorities. A third individual, not an American citizen, attempted to re-enter the country for the hearing but was denied entry, as reported by her attorney. The last individual did not appear for unspecified reasons.

Many of those who presented themselves in court had not yet been processed at the Fulton County Jail concerning their charges. Some had begun negotiating bond amounts and conditions with the prosecution, while negotiations were ongoing for others.

Judge Adams mandated that they must self-surrender by 10 a.m. the following Tuesday, exactly 24 hours subsequent to the arraignment. She cautioned that failure to comply would result in arrest warrants being issued and any arranged bond being revoked.

Additionally, Adams directed the defense teams to provide the prosecution with hard drives by the approaching Friday to facilitate the exchange of evidence, or discovery. Prosecutors have until the year’s end to complete and distribute the evidence to the defense attorneys.

The final plea hearing is to be scheduled no later than the end of June, as per Adams’s instructions. She emphasized that any plea bargains with the prosecution should be negotiated by this deadline.

Outside the courthouse, a couple of hundred “Stop Cop City” supporters gathered, engaging in songs, chants, and displaying signs.

Proponents of the facility, including Atlanta Mayor Andre Dickens, argue the $90 million, 85-acre complex will replace existing inadequate training centers and address the issue of recruiting and retaining officers. Critics, however, fear the potential increase in police militarization and environmental harm in the predominantly Black and economically disadvantaged South River Forest area.

Tensions in the protests intensified following the fatal shooting of 26-year-old Manuel Esteban Paez Terán, known as Tortuguita, by state troopers in January. A decision was made last month not to charge the troopers involved, as the use of deadly force was deemed “objectively reasonable.”

Many among the indicted in August face accusations relating to their participation in the movement, with RICO charges carrying potential additional sentences of five to 20 years on top of penalties for underlying crimes.

Included in the defendants are over three dozen individuals previously charged with domestic terrorism in relation to the protests, three bail fund executives accused of money laundering, and three activists facing felony intimidation charges after allegedly distributing flyers labeling a state trooper as a “murderer” in the wake of Paez Terán’s shooting.

The prosecution’s claims of conspiracy encompass a spectrum of alleged criminal activities, including the possession and use of incendiary devices against police and reimbursement for materials supporting activists entrenched near the construction site.

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Reporter Mike Stewart from Big Big News provided additional coverage.

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More about Stop Cop City arraignment

• Georgia Attorney General’s indictment on ‘Stop Cop City’ protesters
• ACLU’s stance on the ‘Stop Cop City’ indictment
• Details on the proposed Atlanta police training facility
• Coverage of Manuel Esteban Paez Terán’s case
• Information on RICO charges and their implications