Georgia judge to toss landmark racketeering charges against 'Cop City' protesters

"Stop Cop City" protesters march near the Fulton County courthouse in Downtown Atlanta on August 14, 2023. (Matthew Pearson/WABE)

Updated Sept. 9, at 3:25 p.m.

A Georgia judge on Tuesday said he will toss the racketeering charges against all 61 defendants accused of a yearslong conspiracy to halt the construction of a police and firefighter training facility that critics pejoratively call “Cop City.”

Fulton County Judge Kevin Farmer said he does not believe Republican Attorney General Chris Carr had the authority to secure the 2023 indictments under Georgia’s Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations law, or RICO. Experts believe it was the largest criminal racketeering case ever filed against protesters in U.S. history.