Sept. 6 (UPI) -- Sixty-one activists have been indicted on RICO charges over their actions to prevent construction of the future Atlanta Public Safety Training Center, which opponents have dubbed Cop City.
I don't have enough background on the group charged here to assess whether this indictment is worthy, but the description in the article suggests that it is.
What's more important now is watching how this RICO case progresses in comparison to the other RICO case in Fulton County, GA, currently in progress. How will these defendants be treated? Do they get two weeks to surrender? What bail amounts do they get? What deference (or lack thereof) do they get from the court? How many of them get tried together? What is the trial schedule?
How the fuck do you think a racketeering law can be reasonably applied to a group of protestors? This is a blatant attempt at chilling protest using laws designed for breaking up fucking mafias. You should be ashamed of yourself for carrying their water.
Georgia RICO law requires at minimum: two people, and the commitment of two criminal acts in furtherance of the same criminal goal, within a period of four years. It has been applied in Georgia, and in Fulton County, to indict co-conspirators related to the efforts to overturn a free and fair election for the office of President, it has been used to successfully prosecute inflation of test scores by Atlanta teachers, and it has been used to indict these 61 members of Defend the Atlantc Forest.
RICO laws are designed to prosecute criminal conspiracies. "Traditional" organized crime, in the form of mafias, is certainly what prompted this kind of legislation. That does not exclude the law from being applied to non-mafia criminal conspiracies.
I would posit that protest organizations like the one charged here could desire prosecution, as it brings their cause more attention. And if their defense is unsuccessful against statements like:
"As the indictment asserts, members of Defend the Atlanta Forest subscribe to a philosophy of anarchy. They hold a core belief that society should abolish police, government and private business. And as further alleged, they are willing to bring about such changes 'by any means necessary,' including violence," he said.
Then their actions go well beyond simple "civil disobedience" (something I am wholeheartedly in favor of) and fall into the area of dangerous criminal action. Dangerous criminal actions should be prosecuted.
The Cop City Vote Coalition, which is seeking to force a referendum on the training facility, condemned Carr for bringing "blatantly authoritarian" and "anti-democratic" charges against defendants in an effort to snuff out opposition to the facility.
"These charges ... seek to intimidate protesters, legal observers and bail funds alike, and send the chilling message that any dissent to Cop City will be punished with the full power and violence of the government," it said in a statement.
"Carr's actions are a part of a retaliatory pattern of prosecutions against organizers nationwide that attack the right to protest and freedom of speech."
Add comment