Police in Atlanta arrest 3 behind bail fund supporting protests against police training complex

ATLANTA -

Police on Wednesday arrested three Atlanta organizers who have been aiding protesters against the city's proposed police and fire training centre, striking at the structure that supports the fight against what opponents derisively call "Cop City."

The Georgia Bureau of Investigation announced its agents and Atlanta police had arrested three leaders of the Atlanta Solidarity Fund, which has bailed out protesters and helped them find lawyers.

Charged with money laundering and charity fraud are Marlon Scott Kautz, 39, of Atlanta; Savannah D. Patterson, 30, of Savannah; and Adele MacLean, 42, of Atlanta.

State investigators said they found evidence linking all three to financial crimes. Police executed warrants Wednesday morning at a house owned by Kautz and MacLean that is emblazoned with anti-police graffiti in an otherwise gentrified neighbourhood east of downtown Atlanta.

Attorney Don Samuel, who is representing the three activists, said Wednesday afternoon that he had not yet seen the arrest warrants and was trying to determine the basis for the charges.

"I know what the crimes are that are alleged, but I don't know exactly what the state's alleging that these three people did or how they supposedly engaged in charity fraud," he said.

Prosecutors said the three would likely make their initial appearances before a judge on Thursday.

MacLean, Kautz and Patterson are respectively the CEO, chief financial officer and secretary of the Network for Strong Communities, which was incorporated in 2020 and runs the Atlanta Solidarity Fund.

Lauren Regan, executive director of the Civil Liberties Defense Center, called the arrests an "extreme provocation" in a statement.

"Bailing out protestors who exercise their constitutionally protected rights is simply not a crime," Regan said. "In fact, it is a historically grounded tradition in the very same social and political movements that the city of Atlanta prides itself on. Someone had to bail out civil rights activists in the '60s -- I think we can all agree that community support isn't a crime,"

More than 40 people have been charged with domestic terrorism in connection with protests over the Atlanta Public Safety Training Center, a cause that has garnered international attention since authorities clearing the protesters' camp in South River Forest fatally shot an environmental activist in January. Officials say the officers fired in self-defence after the protester shot a trooper. The Georgia Bureau of Investigation is investigating.

Kautz himself predicted in a February statement that investigators were trying to build a criminal case against protesters using Georgia's Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations law.

That law allows prosecutors to bring charges against multiple people accused of committing separate crimes while working toward a common goal. RICO is a felony charge that carries stiff penalties: A prison term of five to 20 years; a fine of $25,000 or three times the amount of money gained from the criminal activity, whichever is greater; or both.

"This is targeting of organizers and movements by the police and the state," Kamau Franklin of Community Movement Builders said in a statement "Bail funds have been a part of organizing the Civil Rights movement and labor movement. We will continue to fight back against cop city and the political arrest of our friends and comrades."

In a statement issued after the arrests, Gov. Brian Kemp said the state would "track down every member of a criminal organization, from violent foot soldiers to their uncaring leaders."

"These criminals facilitated and encouraged domestic terrorism with no regard for others, watching as communities faced the destructive consequences of their actions." the Republican said. "Here in Georgia, we do not allow that to happen."

Georgia Attorney General Chris Carr, also a Republican, pledged to "not rest until we have held accountable every person who has funded, organized, or participated in this violence and intimidation."

Activists nationwide have joined the protest movement, arguing that the 85-acre (34-hectare) centre would train officers to become more militarized and quell dissent, all while hundreds of trees are cut down, worsening flooding and climate change.

The Atlanta City Council approved the training centre in 2021, saying a state-of-the-art campus would replace substandard offerings and boost police morale, which is beset by hiring and retention struggles in the wake of violent nationwide protests against police brutality and racial injustice in the summer of 2020.

The city is tasking the private Atlanta Police Foundation with building the complex, promising to pay $67 million over time. The remainder of the $90 million complex would come from private funds. Foundation work is ongoing, with the complex projected to be completed in 2024.