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Ayla King, 19, will become the first of 61 activists to go to trial this week on felony racketeering (RICO) charges for protesting the $90 million police training facility dubbed ‘Cop City’ in Atlanta, Georgia.
King is so far the only one of dozens of activists to be granted a speedy trial. It begins Wednesday, Jan. 10 at 9 a.m. in front of Fulton County Superior Court Judge Kimberly Adams. On Monday, the judge held a pre-trial hearing to weigh King’s motion to dismiss her charges, citing the court’s delay.
King was arrested March 5, 2023 but maintains they are “innocent of all charges,” according to the court filing.
RICO Trial for COP City protester begins, NAACP considers lawsuit
The city of Atlanta continues to delay placing a vote on ‘Cop City’ on the ballot. Meanwhile, the state of Georgia is just beginning to move forward on its heavily criticized felony and terrorism cases against protesters.
For years residents and community leaders have voiced opposition to the city of Atlanta turning forest land and the ancestral home of the Muscogee (Creek) Nation into a state of the art police and fire training facility.
In an exclusive interview with Georgia NAACP President Gerald Griggs in November, he warned Atlanta Mayor Andre Dickens a lawsuit remains on the table.
“I’m going to tell you the same thing I told the mayor. As a representative of the oldest civil rights organization in this state, we don’t want more militarized police to be terrorizing African American communities,” Griggs told The Black Wall St. Times.
“We have three methods of changing people’s minds. One is advocacy. The other is litigation, and the other is legislation. All three are on the table,” he said.
Family of protester facing RICO charges hopes for speedy trial
Protests against ‘Cop City’ have at times turned violent. Yet King was part of a group of 23 nonviolent protesters arrested at the South River Music Festival.
Atlanta Police and Georgia State Troopers have lumped in nonviolent protesters with a group who destroyed property. Critics accuse them of seeking to stifle dissent against the facility, which has already broken ground.
Atlanta Police continue to shield Georgia State Troopers from accountability for its role in killing unarmed forest defender Miguel Tehran Tortuguita in January 2023.
An independent autopsy organized by their family showed officers shot Tortuguita while they were sitting down with their legs crossed and their arms in the air.
The state declined to charge troopers for his death, according to the Associated Press.
Family of protester facing RICO charges hopes for speedy trial
Meanwhile, the family of Ayla King is hopeful the trial will lead to the jury finding them innocent.
“After a lengthy delay that violated my child’s right to a speedy trial, it’s finally starting,” said Aslan King, father of Ayla King, according to a press release shared by long-time Atlanta community leader Kamau Franklin.
“I look forward to the prompt dismissal of all charges against Ayla and every other person being targeted by the state in its attempt to chill dissent.”
The first ‘Cop City’ RICO trial is estimated to take at least four to eight weeks.
Notably, the felony RICO charges placed on nonviolent protesters have led to the loss of jobs and income. Banks closed accounts, and several suffer from psychological trauma, according to a report from the Guardian.
King, who traveled from Massachusetts to Atlanta, reportedly spent a month in DeKalb County Jail before being released on bond. Other protesters were forced to languish in jail for three months with no charges.
“These extreme acts of repression are deeply damaging to the lives of those facing prosecution, but they’ve also shown how vital it is to take care of each other,” said community organizer Micah Herskind.
“The charges were meant to fracture our communities, but they’ve actually brought people together,” continued Herskind. “We’re seeing once again that only we keep each other safe, not the police.”