Georgia prosecutors have decided to drop all 15 counts of money laundering against three Atlanta organizers who were accused of misusing a bail fund to support violent demonstrations against the building of a police and fire training center in the city. Despite the dismissal of the money laundering charges, Marlon Kautz, Adele MacLean, and Savannah Patterson still face racketeering charges along with 58 others involved in the “Stop Cop City” movement, which authorities claim was led by militant anarchists aiming to stop the facility’s construction through radical means, including arson.
The Atlanta Solidarity Fund, central to the case, had been providing bail money and legal support for arrested protesters. Prosecutors alleged that the defendants diverted funds meant for charitable purposes to reimburse protesters who had camped near the construction site in DeKalb County, just outside Atlanta. Transactions cited in the indictment, such as $93.04 for camping supplies and $12.52 for forest kitchen materials, led to the money laundering charges.
Deputy Attorney General John Fowler informed Fulton County Judge Kimberly Esmond Adams of the decision to drop the 15 money laundering charges just as a motions hearing was about to commence. The reasons for the dismissal were not disclosed by a spokesperson for Georgia Attorney General Chris Carr, who stressed that the racketeering charges remain in place.
The attorney for Savannah Patterson, Kristen Novay, welcomed the move, calling the entire indictment flawed. Civil rights groups and demonstrators have criticized the racketeering indictment, accusing Carr of using heavy-handed tactics to suppress a movement that has drawn support from environmentalists and anti-police protesters nationwide.
Construction of the controversial training center has proceeded despite attacks on the site and equipment over the past few years, with officials planning a ribbon-cutting ceremony in December. Efforts to bring a referendum on the project to voters have been delayed as the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals considers legal challenges surrounding the petition drive.
Protests erupted during a recent Atlanta City Council meeting over the stalled referendum, with demonstrators chanting and throwing pingpong balls in the council chamber. Legal proceedings related to the “Stop Cop City” protests have faced obstacles, including the withdrawal of a district attorney from cases tied to the demonstrations and criticisms of prosecutorial negligence by the judge presiding over the case.
