Fulton County grand jury charges 61 'anarchist' protesters under same RICO law used to indict Trump
The site of the proposed training center has been the subject of violent protests since it was first announced in 2021.
The same Fulton County grand Jury that indicted former President Donald Trump and his 18 co-defendants under a Georgia state racketeering law also used the same law to indict 61 people who were protesting against the building of an Atlanta police training center.
Georgia Republican Attorney General Chris Carr said Tuesday that a Fulton County grand jury indicted 61 people were protesting against the training center, which critics dubbed "Cop City," under the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act.
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution confirmed that it was the same grand jury that indicted Trump and his 18 co-defendants for allegedly trying to turn the 2020 election results in the state in his favor.
In the latest indictment, the 61 defendants, just 13 of whom are from Georgia, "are members of Defend the Atlanta Forest, an anarchist, anti-police, and anti-business extremist organization," the attorney general's office said.
"If you come to our state and shoot a police officer, throw Molotov cocktails at law enforcement, set fire to police vehicles, damage construction equipment, vandalize private homes and businesses, and terrorize their occupants, you can and will be held accountable," Carr said.
The site of the proposed training center has been the subject of violent protests since it was first announced in 2021.
Trump and all of his co-defendants have pleaded not guilty to the Georgia charges.