Domestic terrorism charges rare in DeKalb County

Police holding person to ground
A protestor is arrested in downtown Atlanta Jan. 21 at a protest over the shooting death of 26-year-old Manuel Teran, or “Tortuguita.” Five others were also arrested and now face domestic terrorism charges. (Chamian Cruz/WABE)

DeKalb County charged fourteen people over the last couple months with domestic terrorism for their involvement in protests at the site of Atlanta’s proposed public safety training facility.

It’s a rare charge for the county – these charges are the first time the DeKalb County District Attorney brought domestic terrorism cases in at least the last decade. 

The first arrests were in December – they were of protestors who lived in the forest and cleared out during a multi-agency operation.