atlanta — A Georgia judge delivered on Tuesday Extortion fees Against dozens of defendants accused of a years-long conspiracy to stop construction of a police and firefighter training facility that critics call “Cop City.”
Fulton County Judge Kevin Farmer said in the order that Republican District Attorney Chris Carr did not have the authority to secure the verdict. 2023 indictments Under Georgia’s Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported. Farmer said he needs permission from Gov. Brian Kemp.
Carr’s office said in a statement that they intend to appeal.
“We strongly disagree with this decision and will continue to aggressively pursue this domestic terrorism case to ensure justice is done,” his office said.
The 61 defendants, in what experts called the largest criminal racketeering case against protesters in U.S. history, faced allegations such as throwing Molotov cocktails at police officers and supplying food to protesters. Each defendant faces up to 20 years in prison on the extortion charges.
Five of them have also been indicted on domestic terrorism and first-degree arson charges related to the night in 2023 when Masked activists burned a police car In downtown Atlanta, they threw rocks at the Atlanta Police Foundation’s skyscraper. Carr also did not have the authority to pursue the arson charge but the domestic terrorism charge would likely still stand, Farmer said.
Amanda Clark Palmer, an attorney for one of the protesters, praised the judge’s decision, saying, “The prosecution did not follow the law when filing these charges,” according to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
“We are relieved that the dismissal order has been issued but our relief is not yet complete as we wait to see whether the Attorney General will appeal,” Clark Palmer said in a statement.
The long-running controversy over the training center came to a head in January 2023 after state troopers, part of a sweep of the South River Forest, killed a 26-year-old activist, known as “Tortugueta,” who authorities said had shot them while they were inside a tent near the construction site. The prosecutor found the soldiers’ actions ” Objectively reasonable“.” Tortugueta family I filed a lawsuitSaying that his hands were in the air and that the soldiers used excessive force when they initially fired pepper balls into the tent.
Protests erupted, with masked vandals sometimes attacking police vehicles and construction equipment to disrupt the project and intimidate contractors into backing down. Opponents also followed such civil paths to stop the facility as Mobilizing city council meetings and lead a large-scale referendum effort Registered in the courts.
Carr, who is running for governor, has been prosecuting the case. Kemp praised it as an important step to combat “out-of-state extremists who threaten the safety of our citizens and law enforcement.”
Critics called the indictment a clumsy, politically motivated attempt to suppress the movement against the 85-acre (34-hectare) project that ultimately cost more than $115 million.