Movement Responds to RICO Indictments Designed to Criminalize Protest

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: September 6, 2023

Movement Responds to RICO Indictments Designed to Criminalize Protest

ATLANTA, GA — This morning, our community received word that 61 individuals have been indicted on charges of racketeering for their alleged association with the opposition to the proposed Cop City project situated in the Weelaunee Forest. These charges have been applied to an extremely broad range of individuals arrested for various alleged acts of protest against police violence over the last three years. This includes arbitrarily mass-arresting and charging music festival attendees with domestic terrorism, a SWAT raid on the home of bail fund organizers on flimsy allegations of “money laundering” and “charity fraud,” and felony charges for simply distributing protest flyers.

The broad application of these charges signal the state’s intent to stifle any organized political resistance against the most powerful people in Atlanta. The 109-page document attempts to vilify protest, mutual aid, political beliefs, and dissent against Cop City in general.

Notably, May 25, 2020, is the beginning date of the indictments, which is the same day George Floyd was murdered by a Minneapolis Police officer, which sparked international protests and demands for police abolition.

“This is a further attempt to criminalize a movement against police violence,” said Kamau Franklin, a lead organizer of Community Movement Builders, which has rallied Black communities in opposition to Cop City. “There is no basis in law to bring these charges. It is simply a scare tactic by the State and city against organizers.”

“The indictment implies, without citing evidence linking any charged individuals, that those arrested for protesting against Cop City are also responsible for the uprising that occurred in Atlanta after police murdered Rayshard Brooks, while falsely claiming that his death was ‘justified’. The indictment also echoes language championed by right-wing provocateur Andy Ngo, showing how much law enforcement sources intelligence from well-documented fascists and white supremacists,” said longtime movement organizer Argo, who is using a pseudonym to combat police scrutiny.

These indictments are occurring within a larger context of overwhelming opposition to the proposed Cop City project. In June, the Atlanta City Council voted to approve an additional $30 million for the project, bringing the total cost to taxpayers to over $60 million, despite 14 hours of testimony opposing the project. The Cop City Vote Coalition has collected over 104,000 signatures in favor of a referendum on Cop City, while the City Government continues to attempt to subvert democracy by challenging the legitimacy of the referendum in court and in the media. At least three contractors for the project have stepped away from the project due to pressure campaigns, including Reeves Young, Quality Glass Company, and Atlas Technical Consultants. These charges are simply the latest in a series of government oversteps intended to undemocratically force Cop City through and over a trail of dead bodies and lives ruined by the carceral system.

This repression, which ridiculously attempts to identify three well-know community organizers who run a fully legal bail fund as the sinister leaders of an entire secretive organization, is also being driven by the demands of contracts involved in the project. In a February 8 meeting, the Atlanta Police Foundation and DaVinci Development, the project management firm in charge of construction planning, discussed the need to indict “leaders of the groups” before searching for sub-contractors and were assured that the city of Atlanta and all jurisdictions were working to do so as quickly as possible. Devoid of any real proof, Georgia Attorney General Chris Carr has cobbled together a set of racketeering charges that amount to a dragnet for any persons who could possibly be associated with the movement.

The indictment is riddled with bold accusations of crimes with zero evidence. The bulk of the allegations are “money laundering,” referencing fully legal, well-documented reimbursements for food, tarps, and crafts supplies. These are the same controversial charges against Solidarity Fund organizers that Magistrate Court Judge James Altman said were not “real impressive” while raising concerns about free speech.

Despite severe repression, the movement to stop Cop City will only grow stronger. Building Cop City would only enable future civil and human rights abuses, such as the actions taken today. We call on all community organizations and advocates to join us in this struggle, to reject these acts of censorship and violence, and to confront the political structure that enables and sustains these abuses.

# # #