A Georgia judge on Tuesday announced his plans to dismiss racketeering charges against 61 defendants accused of working to stop the construction of a police and firefighter training facility that critics have dubbed “Cop City.”
Rioters, many of whom traveled from out of state, camped out at the site of the planned Atlanta Public Safety Training Center for months in the summer of 2023. The training center, which has since opened, was built on 85 acres of forested land in Dekalb County.
The rioters took issue with the $90 million project for several reasons, including the environmental impact of razing the trees. Demonstrators also claimed the site would be used by law enforcement to practice “urban warfare.” The facility, which was opened by the Atlanta Police Foundation, includes a shooting range, mock city and burn building.
Now, Fulton County Judge Kevin Farmer says that Republican Attorney General Chris Carr did not have the authority to secure the 2023 indictments against the defendants under the state’s Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations (RICO) law.
The judge said the attorney general needed Republican Governor Brian Kemp’s permission to bring the charges against the rioters – not the permission of the local district attorney.
“It would have been real easy to just ask the governor, ‘Let me do this, give me a letter,’” Farmer said. “The steps just weren’t followed.”
The judge further concluded that Carr did not have the authority to pursue first-degree arson charges against five of the 61 defendants. However, charges of domestic terrorism against those same five defendants may stand. The five rioters hailed from several states, including Maine, California and Wisconsin.
Farmer said he was unsure whether he would toss the entire indictment or allow the domestic terrorism charges to stand in his formal order that is yet to come.
Deputy Attorney General John Fowler said during a hearing on Tuesday that he believes the judge’s decision is “wholly incorrect.”
At the height of the 2023 demonstration, rioters put up barricades blocking several of the entrances to the center and created makeshift treehouses were they stayed for months.
Masked rioters attacked police vehicles and construction equipment to stall the project and intimidate contractors into backing out.
Several rioters were accused of throwing rocks at police cars and attacking EMTs outside the neighboring fire stations with rocks and bottles, the Georgia Bureau of Investigation said at the time.
The violence eventually boiled over when police shot and killed a rioter who they said opened fire on them first.
Police arrested several people as the demonstration wore on for offenses including carjacking, destruction of property, arson and attacks on public safety officials.
When police cleared out the makeshift treehouses, they discovered explosive devices, gasoline and road flares, according to the bureau.
The 61 defendants faced a variety of allegations, including throwing Molotov cocktails at police officers, supporting protesters who were illegally camping in the woods with food, and passing out fliers near the home of a state trooper accusing him of murdering the protester who was fatally shot.
Under the RICO charge, defendants faced up to 20 years in prison.