‘Alarming and absurd’: concern as ‘Cop City’ activists charged with racketeering

Observers worry about the chilling effects on protests after Atlanta indicts demonstrators under organized crime law

A sweeping indictment announced in Atlanta alleging that opposition to a police and fire department training center known as Cop City" adds up to a criminal conspiracy has observers concerned about a chilling effect on protest everywhere across the US.

The indictment of 61 people under the state's racketeering, or Rico statute, is clearly intended to chill larger political participation", said Lauren Regan, executive director of the Civil Liberties Defense Center, an environmental and social justice legal organization.