Georgia AG appeals to revive full Cop City case against 61 defendants
A stop cop city protest. (FOX 5)
ATLANTA - Georgia Attorney General Chris Carr has reportedly filed an appeal after a Fulton County court dismissed part of the state’s case against 61 people charged in connection with protests targeting the Atlanta Public Safety Training Center, which some opponents call "Cop City."
What we know:
Carr’s office said the prosecution includes charges of domestic terrorism and organized criminal activity. In August 2023, Carr obtained a Fulton County indictment charging 61 defendants with violating Georgia’s Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act, according to the press release. Some defendants were also indicted on domestic terrorism charges, the release said.
What they're saying:
"We took action to ensure that groups like Antifa and other anarchists who engaged in Domestic Terrorism were held accountable," Carr said. "Let me be clear – if you come to our state and shoot a trooper, attack law enforcement, damage construction equipment, and target private homes and businesses, you can and will be held accountable. We promised to use all available resources to ensure agents of violence and chaos were fully punished, and that’s exactly what we’re doing."
The indictment alleges the defendants were members of Defend the Atlanta Forest and conspired to stop construction of the training center through "acts of violence, intimidation, and property destruction" in Fulton County and elsewhere, the release said. Of the 61 defendants charged, only 13 are from Georgia, according to the attorney general’s office.
In December 2025, the Fulton County Court dismissed a portion of the case, but not all of it, the release said. Carr’s appeal seeks to continue with the full prosecution.
In its filing, Carr’s office said the defendants targeted state property and employees, citing agencies including the Georgia Department of Public Safety, the University System of Georgia, the Georgia Department of Juvenile Justice and the Georgia Department of Transportation.
The attorney general’s office also alleged that a defendant threw a Molotov cocktail into the Department of Public Safety headquarters, causing a fire and sending multiple state employees to the hospital, and said the group later shot and injured a state trooper and committed additional vandalism and assaults tied to state agencies, according to the appeal excerpts included in the release.
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