Three activists who have been helping protesters of Atlanta’s new proposed police and fire training center have been arrested for money laundering and charity fraud.
Marlon Scott Kautz, 39, Savannah D. Patterson, 30, and Adele Maclean, 42, were arrested in a dramatic raid on Wednesday at their home.
They are leaders of the Atlanta Solidarity Fund that supports the movement against the planned center, which opponents call ‘Cop City.’
Activists have been trying to block the construction of the police training site since it was announced by then-mayor, Keisha Lance Bottoms, in 2021.
That facility would cover 85 acres of the of forestland south east of Atlanta. Activists have argued the $90million project will irrevocably destroy the local environment and also strengthen the police.
Three activists who have been aiding jailed protesters of a planned police training site in Georgia were arrested in a raid on Wednesday
Marlon Scott Kautz, 39, Adele Maclean, 42, and Savannah D. Patterson, 30, are charged with money laundering and charity fraud
The home where the activists were taken into custody is owned by Kautz and MacLean. Its walls feature messages like ‘NO COPS,’ and ‘COP WATCH’
The Fund, part of the Network for Strong Communities, has provided bail funds and other legal resources to protesters.
‘The GBI, along w/ the Atlanta Police Department, have arrested three people on charges stemming from the ongoing investigation of individuals responsible for numerous criminal acts at the future site of the Atlanta Public Safety Training Center & other metro Atlanta locations,’ the Georgia Bureau of Investigations said on Wednesday.
Footage of the raid posted online shows at least 10 officers in full gear and with their weapons out entering the activists’ home east of downtown Atlanta.
The home where the activists were taken into custody is owned by Kautz and MacLean. Its walls feature messages like ‘NO COPS,’ and ‘COP WATCH.’
The attorney for Kautz, Patterson and Maclean, Don Samuel, told the Associated Press on Wednesday 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.
The activists’ arrest warrants, seen by Channel 2 Action News, accuse the trio of ‘misleading by using funds collected through the State Registered 501c(3) Network for Strong Communities (NFSC) to fund the actions in part of Defend the Atlanta Forest (DTAF), a group classified by the United States Department of Homeland Security as Domestic Violence Extremists.’
Prosecutors say the group used funds from the Network for Strong Communities to provide assistance to members of DTAF. The group is accused of using the funds to buy building and camping supplies, gasoline, signs, COVID tests and forest clean-up supplies.
The activist groups are protesting construction of an 85-acre police training facility planned to be built in forestlands southeast of Atlanta, Georgia
A Bank of America Office (left) spray-painted by activists in response to plans to build a huge police training facility in Atlanta
DTAF said on Instagram that the arrests were ‘another desperate and tactless move by the state to squash a rapidly expanding social movement.’
In March, Kautz told Atlanta News First that the Atlanta Solidarity Fund was raising money to help protestors of ‘Cop City’ to post bail.
‘As far as we can tell all of the people arrested yesterday were bystanders who were effectively participating in a music festival,’ he said.
DailyMail.com has reached out to the Atlanta Solidarity Fund and the Georgia Bureau of Investigations for comment.
Georgia governor Brian Kemp celebrated the arrest on social media on Wednesday.
‘We’re proud to share that those who backed their illegal action are also under arrest and will face justice,’ he said. ‘These criminals facilitated and encouraged domestic terrorism with no regard for others, watching as communities faced the destructive consequences of their actions.’
‘Today’s announcement is a reminder that we will track down every member of a criminal organization, from violent foot soldiers to their uncaring leaders. We will not rest until they are arrested, tried, and face punishment.’
DeKalb County District Attorney, on her part, said in a statement that she believes in the right to peacefully protest and the right for organizations to choose to operate legal bail funds.
However, she said she does not condone ‘violence or threats of violence or ‘Crimes, such as money laundering and charity fraud, to support any illegal acts will not be tolerated.’
Lauren Regan, executive director of the Civil Liberties Defense Center, called the arrests an ‘extreme provocation’ in a statement.
Back in March, the Atlanta Police Department released shocking footage showed the moment protesters dressed in all black broke into the site for the planned police training center
In April, environmental activist Manuel Paez Teran, 26, was shot 57 times and killed while protesting the site
‘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 60’s — I think we can all agree that community support isn’t a crime.’
Back in March, the Atlanta Police Department released shocking footage showed the moment protesters dressed in all black broke into the construction site for the planned police training center.
Nearly 150 rioters were seen entering the site and immediately set off fireworks.
In April, environmental activist Manuel Paez Teran, 26, was shot 57 times and killed while protesting the site.
Activists have been smashing windows and damaging offices across the US as part of an ongoing protest against a proposal to build a sprawling police training facility in a forest outside Atlanta.
Members of the Stop Cop City movement have claimed credit for vandalism in 19 states in the last nine months, targeting businesses like Amazon, Porsche, and Wells Fargo.
The group has said they target businesses based on their affiliation with the Atlanta Police Foundation and the proposed facility known as Cop City.
