Georgia uses ‘political fear-mongering’ in efforts to charge Cop City protesters

Demonstrators protest outside the Fulton county courthouse as 61 people are arraigned on state Rico charges in Atlanta, Georgia, on 6 November 2023. Photograph: Erik S Lesser/EPA

State and federal authorities in Georgia are deploying “political fear-mongering” in recent attempts to prosecute Atlanta residents linked to a protest movement against a police and fire department training center also known as Cop City.

The center is being built on a 171-acre footprint in a forest south-east of Atlanta. Opposition to the project has come from a wide range of local and national supporters and is centered on concerns over police militarization and clearing forests in an era of climate crisis. Atlanta police say the center is needed for “world-class” training.