Atlanta Public Safety Training Center opponents rally to call for release of arrested seniors
Demonstration to release 'Stop Cop City' protesters
Protesters are rallying at the DeKalb County Jail calling for the release of four activists arrested at the planned training center for Atlanta police and first responders. All of those activists are over the age of 60. This happened just a day after dozens of other activists went before a judge on RICO charges in connection with other protests at the site they call "cop city."
ATLANTA - Protesters rallied Wednesday night at the DeKalb County Jail, calling for the release of four activists arrested at the planned Atlanta Public Safety Training Center. All of those activists are over the age of 60. The arrests were just days after dozens of other activists went before a judge on racketeering charges in connection with other protests at the site they call "Cop City."
Atlanta police arrested Laura Kearns, 63; Priscilla Smith, 67; Shelley Nagrani, 73; and Lorraine Fontana, 76. Police say the four women blocked the entrance to the site.
"We’re talking about grandmothers, senior citizens," said Tim Franzen with American Friends Service Committee. "It was really an act of desperation, and act of conscience and an act of bravery."
The arrests come just days after a judge arraigned 57 people charged with racketeering offenses in connection with demonstrations earlier in the year. Georgia Attorney General Chris Carr calls the protesters "militant anarchists." Activists accuse Carr and law enforcement of using heavy-handed tactics to try to silence the movement opposing the training center.
Police would not speak with FOX 5 on camera. The four protesters arrested Wednesday are charged with criminal trespassing. They are scheduled to go before a judge on Thursday.
"They’ve exhausted every democratic option." Not only should they not be detained, they should be let out right now," Franzen said.