Most protestors arrested during Atlanta public safety training riot denied bond

ATLANTA - The 23 people arrested during a violent clash with police at the site of the future Atlanta Public Safety Training Center - nicknamed "Cop City" by critics - sat before a judge for the first time Tuesday. Only one person was granted bond.

This first appearance took place via video conference.

A representative with the public defender's office told Magistrate Court Judge Anna Davis that they were all represented by private attorneys, which may lengthen the process.

"This group changed their clothing into all black, black-out clothing. They had shields that were like riot-type shields, homemade shields. They had bags of rocks. They had fireworks. They had Molotov cocktails," said Chief Assistant District Attorney Peter Johnson.

Johnson spelled out the allegations against the defendants, saying they were reportedly part of a group of about 100 agitators that attacked police Sunday at the site.

Rioters carried shields and were armed with explosives and projectiles as they launched a coordinated attack.

Meanwhile, defense attorneys argued that the domestic terrorism charges were an overreach and asked the judge to grant bond.

"When it comes down to the allegation against Mr. Bilodeau specifically, it says ‘The accused was observed with muddy clothing from breaching and crossing the embankment. Accused was also in possession with a shield'. So, there’s no allegation that he was personally observed throwing a rock, or a firework, or anything like that. It's more akin to a criminal trespass allegation," said Defense Attorney Amanda Clark Palmer. Her client, Timothy Bilodeau, was said to have come from Massachusetts to participate.

Some of the lawyers read letters from character witnesses and had the suspects' family members and acquaintances standing by to testify on their clients' behalf.

"I think the world of Tim. He is not only a good carpenter, a good farmer and gardener, he's also an excellent human being," one man told the court on behalf of Bilodeau.

Of the initial defendants called, none of them had a criminal history, but the judge still denied bond due to the seriousness of the charges.

"The lack of criminal history and good character is part of the equation. But based on the allegations before the court at this time, I am going to deny bond and find that there is a significant risk of danger to persons and property of this community at this stage in the case," the judge said.

The prosecutor has asked the court in the case that the judge decides to grant bond to any of defendants who are not Georgia residents to make it a conditional where they are ordered not to return to the state of Georgia, specifically to the construction site, until their assigned court date.

Who is the one defendant who was granted bond?

A FOX 5 photographer in the courtroom Tuesday said only one defendant of all 23 was granted bond.

Thomas Webb Jurgens was one of two Georgia residents arrested during Sunday's attack on police officers at the construction site.

In court, Jurgens' attorney told the judge that his client is employed with the Southern Poverty Law Center. His attorney said he was just working as a "legal observer" that day, and did not participate in the riot.

LEARN MORE ABOUT LEGAL OBSERVERS HERE

Magistrate Court Judge Anna Davis granted a $5000 bond with the following conditions:

"I just want some assurance that he has a reason to not contact the co-defendants in the case going forward, and that he stays away from the location. And, I feel like there should be some sort of monetary bond attached to that."

Molotov Cocktails: What happened at the Sunday protest against ‘Cop City’ on Mar. 5?

Officials say around 5:30 p.m. Sunday, an estimated 100 protesters left the nearby South River Music Festival, changed into black clothing, and entered the site of the controversial proposed police training center in DeKalb County.

A video released by the Atlanta Police Department shows what appears to be fireworks aimed at officers. In the same video, you can see items including rocks and Molotov cocktails being thrown by protestors in the direction of police, a tipped-over vehicle that later became engulfed in flames, and protestors attempting to set other pieces of construction equipment on fire.

On Sunday, Atlanta Police Chief Darin Schierbaum called the incident a "coordinated attack."

"This was a very violent attack that occurred this evening - a very violent attack," Schierbaum said at the midnight press conference.

SUPPORTERS AND RESISTERS OF ATLANTA PUBLIC SAFETY TRAINING CENTER SOUND OFF AT PUBLIC MEETING

Officers detained 35 people at the scene and charged 23 of them with domestic terrorism. Almost all the people arrested are from states across the U.S., while one is from Canada and another from France, police said Monday. Only two of those arrested are from Georgia.

The FBI's Atlanta branch also weighed in on the violence Monday, pledging to work alongside state and local partners to "determine if any federal statutes have been violated."

If convicted of domestic terrorism, each protestor could face up to 35 years in prison. Those charges have prompted criticism from some that the state is being heavy-handed.

The site has become the flashpoint of an ongoing conflict between authorities and left-leaning protesters who have been drawn together, joining forces to protest a variety of causes. Among them: People against the militarization of the police; others who aim to protect the environment; and some who oppose corporations that they see as helping to fund the project through donations to a police foundation.

VIDEO SHOWS 'VIOLENT AGITATORS AT ATLANTA PUBLIC SAFETY TRAINING CENTER

Protesters who oppose the development run the gamut from more traditional environmentalists to young, self-styled anarchists seeking clashes with what they see as an unjust society.

Defend the Atlanta Forest, a social media site used by members of the movement, said Monday on Twitter that those arrested were not violent agitators "but peaceful concert-goers who were nowhere near the demonstration." A representative of a public-relations firm involved in the group’s events said that it could not immediately comment.

With protestors vowing a "week of action" against the training site, police say they'll step up patrols to prevent what they call an escalation of violence.

"Criminal activity will not be tolerated in Atlanta nor tolerated in connection to this project," Schierbaum said.

What is Atlanta's planned "Cop City?" 

The $90 million Atlanta Public Safety Training Center was approved by the City Council in 2021 as a site for a state-of-the-art new training center for law enforcement and firefighters. 

The 85-acre property is owned by the city of Atlanta but is located just outside the city limits in unincorporated DeKalb County, and includes the Old Atlanta Prison Farm, an abandoned complex where prisoners used to work to grow food.

Along with classrooms and administrative buildings, the training center would include a shooting range, a driving course to practice chases, and a "burn building" for firefighters to work on putting out fires. A "mock village" featuring a fake home, convenience store, and nightclub would also be built for rehearsing raids.

Police officials say the campus would replace substandard offerings and boost police morale beset by hiring and retention struggles in the wake of violent protests against racial injustice after George Floyd’s death in 2020.

Opponents have said that the site would be to practice "urban warfare," and the 85-acre training center would require cutting so many trees that it would be environmentally damaging.

Many activists also oppose spending millions on a police facility that would be surrounded by poor neighborhoods in a city with one of the nation’s highest degrees of inequality.

Color Of Change, a civil rights organization, has been working alongside activists in Atlanta, and leaders have said the facility will only harm Black communities as a result of what they describe as the increased militarization of law enforcement.

Atlanta Mayor Andre Dickens has said that the site was cleared decades ago for a former state prison farm. He has said that it is filled with rubble and overgrown with invasive species, not hardwood trees. The mayor also has said that while the facility would be built on 85 acres, about 300 others would be preserved as public green space.

FOX 5 put together a full timeline of the progression of protests over the past two years, including the trooper-involved shooting death of 26-year-old protestor Manuel Esteban Paez.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.