‘Cop City’ protest lawyers challenge use of domestic terrorism statute

People protest against the controversial ‘Cop City’ project outside the city hall in Atlanta, Georgia, last month. Photograph: Megan Varner/Reuters

Attorneys representing an activist arrested while protesting against the building of “Cop City” in Georgia have launched a legal challenge to the use of a state domestic terrorism statute against protests, claiming an “act of free speech” is being unconstitutionally targeted, the Guardian can reveal.

The move comes amid the unprecedented arrests of organizers at a bail and legal defense fund that has helped some of the people arrested while protesting against the multimillion-dollar police and fire department training center planned for a forest south-east of Atlanta.