FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: November 3, 2023
Activists to Rally at Fulton County Courthouse in Support of the Atlanta 61
All 61 Defendants Will Be Arraigned Monday on State RICO Charges and May Result in Further Detention of Activists
ATLANTA, GA — Community members and organizations will rally at the Fulton County Court House at 9:00 AM on November 6th to support the 61 people being arraigned on Georgia RICO charges. Supporters argue that the RICO charges are baseless and an effort to attack basic freedoms to protest, and intimidate the mass movement against the proposed Atlanta Public Safety Training Center. The rally will be held near the Fulton County Superior Court in Atlanta where all 61 defendants will be arraigned Monday starting at 9:30 AM. The rally is part of an upcoming #StopCopCity Week of Action in Atlanta demanding an end to the construction of Cop City and the City of Atlanta’s use of over $67 million in taxpayer funds for the project.
What: Rally to Support 61 Defendants Indicted under Georgia’s RICO Act
When: November 6, 2023 at 9:00 AM
Where: 185 Central Avenue, Atlanta
Arraignment Location: Fulton County Superior Court, 136 Pryor St SW, Court 4E
Arraignment Time: 9:30 AM
Speakers at the rally will point out how the RICO indictments are targeting any efforts to push back against the movement to Stop Cop City, such as demonstrations, flyering, speaking out, and creating art. They share criticisms of prosecutors’ claims that people are part of a criminal organization; some face RICO indictments for posting flyers on mailboxes while others were charged merely for their presence at a concert in the forest. Speakers will denounce prosecutors’ argument that defendants are part of a criminal organization “Defend the Atlanta Forest.”
“Anyone concerned about misuse of the legal system by powerful people with a corrupt political agenda is a stakeholder in this fight. Standing together to do the right thing is how we win,” said Alex Papali, a father and policy advocate from Boston who is among the 61 RICO defendants.
“Attorney General Chris Carr’s indictment is based on lies, exaggerations, and obvious attempts to criminalize ordinary behavior to punish a movement that has widespread community support” said movement activist Sarah Strong. “The domestic terrorism charges were highly suspect from the beginning,” continued Strong. “Politicians like Atlanta mayor Andre Dickens and Dekalb County DA Sherry Boston were already distancing themselves from this dumpster fire. Chris Carr’s decision to apply RICO charges to these same people, none of whom were indicted for their original charges, is a vain attempt to revive his dying case.”
“The RICO charges are clearly baseless, just as the domestic terrorism charges are,” said Kamau Franklin of Community Movement Builders. “Criminalizing those participating in a movement against police violence truly demonstrates that there is no such thing in America as freedom of speech or freedom to protest.”
Dozens of the 61 defendants were arrested earlier this year for domestic terrorism, but have yet to be indicted. The sheer number of people being pushed through the legal system has strained the Georgia defense bar and resulted in about 10 defendants being forced to go through the arraignment process without lawyers. Supporters are expecting some of the 61 defendants to be held in jail on cash bonds.
The legal backlog in Fulton County has meant that people routinely awaiting trial have been held in pre-trial detention without bond for months, sometimes over a year, which has resulted in the deaths of several prisoners over the past year, including Alexander Hawkins, a homeless grandfather and former veteran who was charged with shoplifting basic hygiene products. This enormous case will significantly worsen the strain on the court system, to the detriment of Black, Indigenous and people of the global majority in Atlanta.
Organizations sponsoring the rally include Community Movement Builders, Showing Up for Racial Justice, Atlanta Chapter, Weelaunee Anti-Repression Posse, Tucson Anti-Repression Crew and Incarcerated Workers Organizing Committee.
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