Georgia Attorney General Chris Carr indicts 61 anarchists for targeting Atlanta ‘Cop City’

Dozens of “militant anarchists” and “eco-activists” opposed to the construction of a police training center critics call “Cop City” have been indicted on racketeering charges, Georgia’s state attorney general announced Tuesday.

The sweeping indictment — made public Tuesday after it was handed up by a grand jury last week — accused 61 members of a group called “Defend the Atlanta Forest” of illegally occupying the training site while committing vandalism and violence.

GOP Attorney General Chris Carr slammed the defendants during a news conference Tuesday.

“The 61 defendants together have conspired to prevent the construction of the Atlanta Public Safety Training Center by conducting, coordinating and organizing acts of violence, intimidation and property destruction,” Carr said.

Critics behind the “Stop Cop City” effort, which has been going on for more than two years, believe the $90 million police and fire training center will further militarize police and cause environmental damage in an urban forest.

Defendants are part of a “self-identified coalition and enterprise of militant anarchists, eco-activists and community organizers,” who are also “anti-police,” the indictment alleges.

“Each individual charged in this indictment knowingly joined the conspiracy in an attempt to prevent the training center from being built,” the indictment states.

The indictment, issued on Aug. 29, is the latest use of the state’s anti-racketeering law, also known as a RICO law.

Most of the defendants are not from Georgia, the Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported.

Some defendants face additional charges including domestic terrorism, arson and money laundering, the newspaper reported.

The indictment was filed in Fulton County and the grand jury that indicted former President Donald Trump and his allies on RICO charges were also involved in the “Cop City” case, the newspaper reported.

Activists fighting for an ongoing referendum against the project condemned the indictment, slamming it as “anti-democratic.”

“Chris Carr may try to use his prosecutors and power to build his gubernatorial campaign and silence free speech, but his threats will not silence our commitment to standing up for our future, our community, and our city,” the Cop City Vote coalition said in a statement.

Meanwhile, Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp lauded the action by the AG’s office.

“My top priority is and always will be keeping Georgians safe, especially against out-of-state radicals that threaten the safety of our citizens and law enforcement,” he said.

Among the alleged crimes included in the RICO case are criminal trespass, vandalism, throwing objects — like Molotov cocktails at police — and issuing online threats.

More than three dozen people already facing domestic terrorism charges tied to violent protests, three bail fund leaders previously accused of money laundering and three activists previously charged with felony intimidation are among the defendants in the new RICO case.

Protests against the training center in DeKalb County ratcheted up after the fatal shooting of a 26-year-old protester in January. State investigators said state troopers shot and killed Manuel Esteban Paez Terán in self-defense after he fired at them, though activists have questioned that account.

 With Post wires