Daniel Hanley, a longtime Atlanta-area activist, is suing Cobb County in federal court, saying police arrested him at an early-morning June 2024 demonstration in Vinings because of his political views, not because he broke the law. His complaint says he and five other protesters were standing near a business park when officers detained them and charged them with loitering and misdemeanor obstruction. Those counts were later dismissed after Hanley completed pretrial diversion, and the suit says officers seized his cellphone during the arrest and have refused to give it back. The filing seeks compensatory and punitive damages as well as the return of the device.
According to Justia Dockets, Hanley filed the case on Feb. 3 in U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Georgia. The docket names Cobb County and Officers Thomas Bolin and Tiare Crawford as defendants and lists the lawsuit as brought under 42 U.S.C. § 1983.
What the complaint alleges
The complaint accuses supervisors at the Cobb County Police Department of telling officers to arrest protesters based on perceived ideological affiliation instead of specific criminal conduct, according to Law360. It says the group was standing in a place where they were legally allowed to be and argues that Georgia's loitering statute applies only when "peace and order" are under threat, which the suit says did not happen.
Scene and charges
Police reports describe a more dramatic scene on the ground. One protester allegedly chained herself to a Jaguar sedan that had been parked in the roadway, its tires slashed and a sheet draped over it reading "Drop the contract or we will be back," briefly backing up traffic, according to The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. After rescuers freed the woman from the car, officers arrested Hanley and others on loitering/prowling and misdemeanor obstruction counts, which the complaint says were later dismissed following pretrial diversion.
Legal claims
Hanley's lawsuit, brought under 42 U.S.C. § 1983, claims unlawful retaliation for protected speech and an improper seizure of property. It seeks compensatory and punitive damages along with an order forcing the return of his cellphone. According to Justia Dockets, Hanley is represented by attorney Drago Cepar Jr., and the filing says police have not returned the device and indicates this is at least the third suit Hanley has brought after protest-related arrests.
Wider backdrop
The case lands in the middle of the long-running fight over the Atlanta Public Safety Training Center, often called "Cop City" by opponents, and follows a series of legal battles tied to protests at the site, including a judge's decision to toss racketeering charges against dozens of activists. AP News has reported on those developments, and local outlets have summarized the courtroom fallout in recent months. Hoodline previously covered the court ruling and its local implications.
Cobb County police and the county attorney's office declined to comment on the pending litigation, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports. Hanley's complaint asks the court to order his phone returned and to hold the county and the officers accountable for what his lawyers describe as enforcement driven by viewpoint rather than conduct.
