Protesters celebrate as court dismisses sweeping RICO charges

Protesters discuss RICO case being dropped

Dozens of opponents of Atlanta?s planned public safety training center rallied outside the Fulton County Courthouse on Wednesday. Fulton County Superior Court Judge Kevin Farmer told the group he was dismissing racketeering charges against 61 defendants accused of conspiring to halt construction of the facility. Attorney General Chris Carr?s office pushed back in a statement sent to FOX 5.

ATLANTA - Dozens of opponents of Atlanta’s planned public safety training center rallied outside the Fulton County Courthouse on Wednesday, celebrating a major victory in the long-running legal battle over the project.

What they're saying:

Fulton County Superior Court Judge Kevin Farmer told the group he was dismissing racketeering charges against 61 defendants accused of conspiring to halt construction of the facility. Farmer said that Attorney General Chris Carr lacked the proper authority to bring the indictments, saying he needed permission from Gov. Brian Kemp before moving forward.

While the sweeping racketeering charges were thrown out, the judge also heard arguments Wednesday on whether domestic terrorism charges against five of the defendants should remain.

"We now have an order from the court that says it was fatally flawed from its inception," said Brad Thomson, an attorney for one of the defendants. "Basically, the attorney general failed to get a permission slip from the principal. He could have gone through that step but didn’t do it."

Watch the full press conference

Among those whose charges have been dropped is Alex Papali, who says the prosecutions have already upended lives.

"I’m facing outlandish charges of domestic terrorism in DeKalb County and this RICO travesty in Fulton," Papali said. "While we had to deal with jail, tarnishing of reputations, legal costs, loss of jobs…we are privileged to have a strong support base."

The other side:

Carr’s office pushed back in a statement sent to FOX 5, saying:

"The Attorney General will continue the fight against domestic terrorists and violent criminals who want to destroy life and property. We strongly disagree with this decision and will appeal immediately."

The backstory:

The case, tied to years of protests over the proposed training facility dubbed "Cop City" by critics, has been described as one of the largest attempts to use racketeering laws against protesters in U.S. history.