Defendants in Georgia 'Cop City' case say they are in limbo as trial delays continue

Julia Dupuis, one of 61 activists indicted on racketeering charges in connection with Atlanta's "Stop Cop City" movement, poses for a portrait in Worcester, Mass., on April 14, 2025. (AP Photo/Rodrique Ngowi)

Single mother Priscilla Grim lost her job. Aspiring writer Julia Dupuis frequently stares at the bedroom ceiling, numb. Geography and environmental studies researcher Hannah Kass is worried about her career prospects after she graduates from her Ph.D. program.

The three are among 61 defendants accused by Republican Georgia Attorney General Chris Carr of participating in a years-long racketeering conspiracy to halt the construction of a police and firefighter training facility just outside Atlanta that critics pejoratively call “Cop City.”

Their cases are at a standstill, 20 months after being indicted under Georgia’s Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations law, or RICO, which is likely the largest criminal racketeering case ever filed against protesters in U.S. history, experts say.