State Felony Charges Dismissed Today Against Stop Cop City Activists Known as Cobb County 3

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: June 17, 2026

State Felony Charges Dismissed Today Against Stop Cop City Activists Known as Cobb County 3

District Court Judge Flournoy Threw Out Charges Filed By Attorney General Chris Carr in April, Four Years After Arrest, on Due Process Grounds

COBB COUNTY, GA – Three Stop Cop City activists had their felony charges dismissed today, just two months after Attorney General Chris Carr filed new charges against them, four years after their arrest, in what supporters called a politically motivated indictment. Cobb County District Court Judge Robert E. Flournoy III dismissed the charges today in a pretrial motions hearing, based on due process violations by Carr’s office. Hannah Kass, Katie Kloth, and Tyler Norman, called the “Cobb County 3” by supporters, were indicted on April 24 on State charges of felony property damage and arson of lands, stemming from arrests that occurred in May 2022.

Today’s dismissal comes a week after the US Attorney for the Northern District of Georgia filed a federal indictment against Kloth and Norman. Federal charges of arson and intimidation were levied by the US Attorney’s Office last Tuesday, related to the same May 2022 demonstration at the headquarters of Brasfield and Gorrie, general contractor for the Atlanta Public Safety Training Center, widely known as “Cop City.” The Department of Justice has tied the federal indictment to the National Security Presidential Memorandum-7, a controversial law enforcement directive introduced by the Trump Administration that has been described by critics as a “declaration of war on anybody who does not support the Trump Administration or its agenda.”

“The state admitted on the court record that the delay in our case was strategic and intentional,” said Dr. Hannah Kass after her case was dismissed. “Now we have the precedent and the court record to help free any of the other RICO 61 they try to target with this strategy. I have had prison time hanging over my head for four years and struggled to secure stable employment after earning my PhD due to Attorney General Chris Carr’s continuous weaponization of political prosecutions against me and my comrades.”

“We are pleased that the Court acknowledged the delay in prosecuting this case for a second time violated Dr. Kass’ rights,” said Amith Gupta, one of the lawyers representing Kass. “We will do whatever it takes to defend the right to protest.”

“We are glad Judge Flournoy reached the correct conclusion: the Attorney General violated the due process rights of the Cobb County 3 through its 47-month-old indictment,” said Xavier T. de Janon of the People’s Law Collective and another attorney for Kass.“Once again, a trial court in Georgia checked the State’s powers against old cases stemming from a powerful social movement. Dr. Kass maintains her innocence in Cobb, in Fulton, and across Georgia. She will seek justice for the State’s malicious prosecutions.”

Joshua Schiffer, counsel for Katie Kloth stated, “I’m pleased the Court recognized the political machinations and manipulations flowing from the Attorney General‘s office in this untimely selective prosecution of political speech.  Our court system requires the fair application of our laws and rejects vindictive lawfare based on political, moral, ethical, or religious positions. President Trump even told prosecutors to stop doing exactly that.”

On May 12, 2022, scores of people were protesting at the headquarters of Brasfield and Gorrie. Five people were arrested that day, two of whom saw their charges withdrawn by the Cobb County District Attorney in April 2025. Even though the State cases against Kass, Kloth, and Norman have the same set of facts as their two co-defendants whose charges were withdrawn last year, Attorney General Carr—and notably not the Cobb County District Attorney—indicted the three for felony property damage and arson of lands.

The Cobb County 3 are part of a group of 61 Stop Cop City activists charged under the Georgia Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations (RICO) Act in August 2023. The sweeping RICO charges were dismissed in December 2025, and that decision was appealed by Attorney General Carr in January. Supporters and the 61 RICO defendants, who were arrested on different dates from 2020 to 2023 at various locations across Georgia, are calling the RICO charges, the pending appeal, and these latest indictments, all politically motivated. The defendants have had their lives upended as a result of the charges. Many defendants have experienced job losses, housing insecurity, career disruptions, and travel restrictions, in addition to the stress and anxiety that comes from the threat of years in prison hanging over their heads.

Today’s decision marks the second time a judge has dismissed cases orginating from the Stop Cop City movement on due process violations. Fifteen other cases from Dekalb County are currently being considered for dismissal based on the same due process arguments.

The Stop Cop City movement has drawn national attention amid ongoing prosecutions of protesters, organizers, and supporters who opposed the project. Supporters of the defendants have criticized the prosecutions as part of a broader effort to criminalize protest and chill dissent against a deeply unpopular City of Atlanta project, which was pushed forward by a constellation of multinational corporations embedded into the prison industrial complex of the United States. In 2023, the people of Atlanta expressed their widespread rejection of this project through the COP CITY VOTE public referendum.

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For more information on the ATL 61, the sweeping criminal cases, and ways to support the defendants and the movement to Stop Cop City, go to: weelauneethefree.org or linktr.ee/sccimaginarycrimestour.