Georgia Judge Dismisses Domestic Terrorism Charge Against Cop City Defendant in DeKalb County, Over Two Years After March 2023 Arrest at Atlanta Music Festival
Dismissal Draws Into Question Cases Against More Than Three Dozen Other Cop City Defendants Similarly Arrested, But Never Indicted, on Domestic Terrorism Charges
DeKalb County Judge Gregory Adams yesterday dismissed Cop City defendant Jamie Marsicano’s state Domestic Terrorism charge following a hearing earlier this month. Judge Adams held that the Georgia Attorney General’s Office violated Marsicano’s Due Process and Speedy Trial rights by leaving their case unindicted for more than two years after their arrest at a music festival in March 2023. As a result of the unresolved charge, Marsicano has endured significant personal and professional hardship, including being denied a license to practice law, despite passing the bar exam earlier this year.
In dismissing Marsicano’s charge, Judge Adams highlighted the prosecution’s intentional delay of the judicial process, ruling that “The Attorney General’s Office appears to have delayed this matter in order to gain a tactical advantage over the defense.”
“We are relieved that the Court reached the correct decision for Jamie, but it is unacceptable that the State could do this to them for over two years,” reflects Marsicano’s attorney, Xavier T. de Janon. “We will continue to zealously fight the remaining Fulton County RICO charges.”
“My team’s aggressive, participatory, and political defense got us this huge win,” says Marsicano. “No one is free until all of us are free, so we all need to keep supporting all Cop City defendants, especially the most vulnerable.”
Judge Adams dismissed the Domestic Terrorism charge without prejudice, meaning the Attorney General could refile the charge within 4 years of Marsicano’s arrest. The dismissal of Marsicano’s charge in DeKalb County follows the Attorney General’s dismissal of all 15 money laundering counts against three Atlanta Solidarity Fund organizers nearly a year ago.
On March 5, 2023, Marsicano was arrested with 22 others while attending the South River Music Festival in the Weelaunee Forest, in the area where the City of Atlanta was building Cop City, a controversial militarized training facility for police. All 23 people arrested, including Marsicano, were charged with Domestic Terrorism, but none of them have ever been indicted on the charge.
Despite the dismissal, Mariscano remains one of 61 Cop City defendants indicted on August 29, 2023 under the Georgia Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations (RICO) Act in a case that alleges a sweeping conspiracy based entirely on people’s political views. All 61 defendants have plead not guilty to the RICO charges in Fulton County Superior Court and are currently awaiting trial.
The RICO case brought by Georgia Attorney General Chris Carr has been plagued with problems, including a number of evidentiary issues. In addition to violating several discovery deadlines, the Attorney General’s Office violated multiple defendants’ constitutional rights in July 2024 by sharing attorney-client privileged communications with prosecutors, police, and every RICO defense team. A couple of months later, in September 2024, the prosecution was forced to drop money laundering charges against three bail fund organizers known as the Atlanta Solidarity Fund 3.
Over 170 people have been arrested so far during protests against Cop City. The facility was completed this year despite mass opposition from Atlanta residents, including a multi-year campaign with a wide range of tactics from environmentalists, abolitionists, students, teachers, anarchists, Indigenous activists, faith leaders and many others. A 2023 ballot initiative petition effort to put Cop City to a direct vote by Atlanta residents collected over 116,000 signatures, more than double the votes that Mayor Andre Dickens received in 2021, but local officials refused to verify the signatures.
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