Fulton County Judge Under Fire in RICO Case

Environmental activists hold a rally and a march through the Atlanta Forest, a preserved forest Atlanta that is scheduled to be developed as a police training center, March 4, 2023 in Atlanta, Georgia. Oral arguments in the case are scheduled to take place June 18 in Fulton County, which is led by District Attorney Fani Willis.

Oral arguments in another Fulton County RICO case, described by defendants' advocates to Newsweek as part of "sham" proceedings, are scheduled to begin Tuesday.

A Georgia Court of Appeals hearing is scheduled to begin at 10:30 a.m. in Atlanta revolving around the alleged actions of Ayla King and 60 other defendants as part of the "Cop City" protests that began last year in opposition to the Atlanta Police Foundation's attempts to build the nation's largest police training facility in Weelaunee Forest. The intended construction of the approximate $90 million facility in a green space watershed has led to continued protests, including in March 2023 when Atlanta Police officers detained 35 "violent agitators."

Fulton County trial Judge Kimberly Adams is at the center of defendants' ire due to purportedly not providing a swift trial brought on by the state.

On October 30, 2023, lawyers for King, 19, filed a motion for a speedy trial and argued that the trial did not occur within the requisite statutory period of two terms, thus violating King's rights and others under state law. King and others were indicted on August 29, and all have pleaded not guilty to the charges.

A motion to dismiss the case in January was rejected by Adams in February.

In an appeal this past March, King's legal counsel argued that Adams "repeatedly, explicitly, and accurately stated that [the trial] would not, and had not, started...prior to the expiration of the November 2023 term," which King's lawyers said was required by law.

The appeal was accepted, leading to Tuesday's proceedings.

"All of these charges are a sham," Reverend Keyanna Jones, a local supporter of Ayla King and the Stop Cop City movement, said in a statement shared with Newsweek. "The state's attempt to criminalize the movement is evidence of a system bankrupt of justice.

"Ayla's case should be thrown out for failing to respect their constitutional rights to a speedy trial but also because the state's case doesn't have a leg to stand on."

A lack of clarity from Tuesday's proceedings could lead to a drawn-out process, according to Atlanta-based journalist and researcher Aja Arnold.

"It is unlikely the court of appeals will rule tomorrow, but we hope Ayla King's motion to dismiss will be upheld," Arnold told Newsweek via email. "If so, it will likely result in Ayla's case being thrown out. If Ayla and others don't get their charges dropped, people are prepared to fight their cases at trial. This would keep Judge Adams' hands full trying dozens of cases over the coming months."

Cop City

According to opposition group Stop Cop City, approximately one-third of the prison funding project would come from area taxpayers while the facility—which could include military-grade training facilities, a mock city to practice urban warfare, explosives testing areas, dozens of shooting ranges, and a Black Hawk helicopter landing pad—would be built on some 381 acres of forest land.

Protests have continued well into this year, with demonstrators galvanizing outside of Atlanta City Hall in May and accusing Atlanta Mayor Andre Dickens of relaying broken promises regarding the facility, according to WAGA in Atlanta.

The protesters have also called on local officials to let the voters decide on the future of the park property, encouraging the proposal to be on a future ballot.

Last week, DeKalb County CEO candidates Larry Johnson and Lorraine Cochran-Johnson did not oppose the facility and said it would do good for the surrounding area in terms of training law enforcement personnel, according to Atlanta Civic Circle.

RICO Effects

"Fani Willis has been dealing with her own legal issues, which are still ongoing, that probably contributed to delays in these trials," Patricia Crouse, a political science practitioner in residence at the University of New Haven, told Newsweek on Monday via email. "So, I think the delays are a result of that rather than a slow judicial system."

In terms of the charges being part of a "sham" indictment, Crouse said RICO law has been broadly applied so that argument may fall short in court.

"Having said that, it's possible that the 'Cop City' trials could serve as test cases as to how well the law can be applied," she added. "If they are unsuccessful in these prosecutions, then all of the defendants in the Trump Georgia election case may have grounds for dismissal."

Although the case argues against a judge, Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis has led high-profile Racketeering Influenced Corrupt Organizations [RICO] Act cases, notably against former President Donald Trump and more recently an organized crime case involving rapper Young Thug. She has faced some scrutiny from those involved directly with such cases as well as outsiders, to whom she recently referred as "idiots" who aim to humiliate her.

Trump, former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani and 17 others are charged with alleged fraud in Georgia in the 2020 presidential election. Trump has denied wrongdoing. Young Thug and 27 other people were indicted on charges of conspiring to violate the state's RICO Act for alleged membership of a street gang called Young Slime Life, or YSL, which also stands for the name of Young Thug's record label, Young Stoner Life.

Update 6/17/24, 3:04 p.m. ET: This story was updated with comment from Aja Arnold.

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