Activists have spent two years protesting the construction of a police training center southeast of Atlanta. The city plans to build the facility, which protesters have dubbed "Cop City," on state-owned forested land, and activists have resorted to various tactics—including, in some cases, violence—in opposition.
This week, Georgia Attorney General Chris Carr announced charges for 61 protesters under the state's Racketeering Influenced and Corrupt Organizations (RICO) Act. The indictment claims the defendants are all part of a criminal enterprise called Defend the Atlanta Forest. Included among the indicted defendants are a Southern Poverty Law Center attorney who was arrested while acting as a legal observer and three people who run a bail fund.
