Hearing August 6 for Cop City Defendant Seeking Dismissal of Domestic Terrorism Charge, Unindicted More Than Two Years After March 2023 Arrest

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: August 5, 2025

Hearing August 6 for Cop City Defendant Seeking Dismissal of Domestic Terrorism Charge, Unindicted More Than Two Years After March 2023 Arrest at Atlanta Music Festival

Due to Unresolved Domestic Terrorism Charge and Denial of Speedy Trial Rights, Jamie Marsicano Has Endured Significant Hardship, Including Being Denied a Law License

ATLANTA, GA – A hearing will be held on August 6th for Jamie Marsicano, a Cop City defendant arrested in March 2023, who is seeking to dismiss their Domestic Terrorism charge in DeKalb County Superior Court. More than two years after their arrest, Marsicano has been denied a speedy trial and has never been indicted for Domestic Terrorism. As a result of the unresolved charge, Marsicano has endured significant personal and professional hardship, including being denied a license to practice law, despite passing the bar exam earlier this year.

What: Hearing to dismiss domestic terrorism charge against Cop City Defendant Jamie Marsicano
    When: Wednesday, August 6 at 2pm
    Where: DeKalb County Superior Court, 556 N. McDonough Street, Decatur, GA

Marsicano’s hearing can also be viewed virtually at:
https://tinyurl.com/DropTheTerrorismCharge (ID: 883 8751 7511)

Virtual press conference will be held by Marsicano’s legal team at 3:30pm, or when the hearing ends, whichever is later: https://us04web.zoom.us/j/78121869057 (ID: 781 2186 9057, Passcode: JCbx9D)

“The State’s intentional and tactical delays in prosecuting this DeKalb County case have come at the expense of my client’s freedom, reputation, and ability to defend themselves at trial,” said Marsicano’s lawyer, Xavier T. de Janon. “The State should not be allowed to violate my client’s rights.”

On March 5, 2023, Marsicano was arrested with 22 others while attending the South River Music Festival in the Weelaunee Forest, where the City of Atlanta is building Cop City, a controversial militarized training facility for police. All 23 people arrested, including Marsicano, were charged with Domestic Terrorism, but none of them have ever been indicted on the charge.

Marsicano was held for more than three weeks in DeKalb County jail, and like their co-defendants, has faced difficulties finding employment and securing housing due to background checks, and has lived under the threat of decades in prison. “The Attorney General is using the specter of Domestic Terrorism to imply that people who oppose Cop City are guilty before they’ve even been indicted, let alone defend themselves at trial,” said local activist Evan Grace. “The State needs to dismiss these outrageous charges.”

Marsicano is also one of 61 Cop City defendants—arrested across Atlanta on different dates beginning in late 2022—indicted on August 29, 2023, under the Georgia Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations (RICO) Act, in a case that alleges a sweeping conspiracy based entirely on people’s political views. All 61 defendants have plead not guilty to the RICO charges in Fulton County Superior Court and are currently awaiting trial.

The RICO case brought by Georgia Attorney General Chris Carr has been plagued with problems, including a number of evidentiary issues. In addition to violating multiple discovery deadlines, the Attorney General’s Office violated multiple defendants’ constitutional rights in July 2024 by sharing attorney-client privileged communications with prosecutors, police, and every RICO defense team. A couple of months later, in September 2024, the prosecution was forced to drop money laundering charges against three bail fund organizers known as the Atlanta Solidarity Fund 3.

Over 170 people have been arrested so far during protests against Cop City. The facility was completed this year despite mass opposition from Atlanta residents, including a multi-year campaign with a wide range of tactics from environmentalists, abolitionists, students, teachers, anarchists, Indigenous activists, faith leaders and many others. A 2023 ballot initiative petition effort to put Cop City to a direct vote by Atlanta residents collected over 116,000 signatures, more than double the votes that Mayor Andre Dickens received in 2021, but local officials refused to verify the signatures.

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For more information on the sweeping criminal cases, and ways to support the defendants and the movement to Stop Cop City, go to: weelauneethefree.org and FireAntMovementDefense.org.