Prosecutor in Cop City RICO trial asks judge to use dead activist’s diary against defendants

ATLANTA - Georgia Attorney General Chris Carr is trying to introduce the diary of a "Stop Cop City" activist shot and killed by state troopers in the RICO trial of 61 other protesters tied to the movement, according to court documents obtained by FOX 5.

Prosecutors say officials recovered the diary of Manuel "Tortuguita" Terán, who reportedly used they/them pronouns, near their body in January. Troopers claim Terán shot at them while occupying the South River Forest near the site of the controversial police training center and they returned fire, killing the activist.

The State plans on using the diary to paint a picture of a violent criminal enterprise among the entire group of protesters.

"Manuel Terán was attempting to occupy the forest by residing in a tent, and he was a co-conspirator with Defendants in the indictment," the motion says. "The Defend the Forest group acknowledges this as true, and Teran’s own writings corroborate this fact. In addition to occupying the forest, Teran’s writings acknowledge more than mere occupation. Indeed, Teran lists crimes that should be committed, coordinated meetings in the woods regarding the ‘StopCopCity’ movement, and overall embodies the plans and motives of the self-identified ‘Forest Defenders.’"

Legal experts say Georgia’s broadly written RICO laws may allow for the use of the diary as evidence, similar to how Fulton County DA Fani Willis has introduced rap lyrics in the YSL RICO case.

"Even though this is Tortuga’s diary and his words and his beliefs, [the prosecution is] saying that this is reflective of what this whole movement was about," said Tom Church, a criminal defense attorney familiar with RICO cases.

However, Kamau Franklin, an organizer opposed to the construction of the training center with the group Community Movement Builders, said many of the 61 defendants had never even met Terán.

"They are willing to use the writings of someone they murdered in the forest to try to report a further conspiracy with people that that person didn’t even know," Franklin said. "Torta can’t even testify if this is even their actual diary that’s being introduced. So all of this is really an attempt by the prosecution to further criminalize movement activity."

The court filing obtained by FOX 5 shows pages with statements like "Burn police vehicles," "Kill cops," and "Cop cars love being on fire."

Church says there’s more wiggle room to introduce evidence that might not fly in any other criminal trial.

"I do think the judge is going to let it come in. I do think that the prosecutors are going to try to weaponize these words against everybody else in the case," Church said. "Whether a jury will be swayed, I think as a different question."

It’s not clear when a judge will decide if the diary is admissible in the case.