Georgia prosecutors have dismissed all money laundering charges against three community organizers. Marlon Kautz, Adele MacLean, and Savannah Patterson, leaders of the Atlanta Solidarity Fund connected with the "Stop Cop City" movement, had been indicted on charges of using the fund to support violent protests. Although the charges of money laundering have been retracted, the trio still faces racketeering charges alongside 58 others, as reported by FOX5 Atlanta.
The indictment had accused the defendants of funneling money intended for charitable causes to reimburse protesters for expenses including "camping supplies" and "forest kitchen materials," with transactions totaling $93.04 and $12.52 respectively. The sudden dismissal of the money laundering counts was announced just before a scheduled motions hearing, with Deputy Attorney General John Fowler opting not to proceed on those counts for undisclosed reasons. An attorney for one of the defendants, Kristen Novay, responded by celebrating the decision and suggesting that the prosecutors recognized the charges as flimsy, telling The Associated Press, "The entire indictment is defective, but with those particular counts, I think it is a wise move for a seasoned prosecutor to say, ‘This isn’t worth it.’"
Critics of the Georgia Attorney General and the racketeering indictment targets a movement uniting environmentalists and critics of police practices, while supporters of the training center argue it's integral for modernizing and improving law enforcement training. Debates have intensified as the city prepares for the center's ribbon-cutting in December, amid continued attacks against the construction site—an 85-acre, $110-million project opponents argue will further police militarization in a disadvantaged, majority-Black neighborhood.
Tensions around the development have risen due to tens of thousands of petition signatures, which have been stalled for over a year due to a pending court decision regarding the legality of signature collection by nonresidents. Officials are hopeful that the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals will nullify the petition effort. This legal limbo has fed into widespread dissatisfaction, with demonstrators recently throwing pingpong balls in the Atlanta City Council chamber while proclaiming, "You have dropped the ball," in reference to the city's handling of a referendum on the project, as detailed by FOX5 Atlanta.
The prosecution of those linked to the "Stop Cop City" protests has encountered several setbacks. Last year, disagreements with Georgia Attorney General Chris Carr prompted DeKalb County District Attorney Sherry Boston to withdraw from the protest-related cases, and mishandled confidential communications between the indicted organizers and their lawyers have been criticized by the presiding judge, albeit without resulting in a dismissal. The trajectory of the case remains uncertain as the city readies to inaugurate the training center amidst ongoing legal and community resistance.
