Executive Summary
- Fulton County Judge Kevin Farmer dismissed RICO charges against protesters opposing the Atlanta Public Safety Training Center.
- The court ruled that Attorney General Chris Carr lacked the authority to file the charges without a referral from Governor Brian Kemp.
- The Attorney General’s office disputes the ruling and has announced plans to appeal the decision.
- Charges of domestic terrorism and arson remain active against a smaller subset of defendants.
Fulton County Superior Court Judge Kevin Farmer issued an order Tuesday dismissing racketeering charges against dozens of activists involved in protests against the Atlanta Public Safety Training Center. The judge ruled that Georgia Attorney General Chris Carr lacked the specific legal authority to bring the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations (RICO) Act charges without a formal referral from the governor.
The ruling addresses the broad indictment that characterized the protest movement as a criminal enterprise. In his order, Judge Farmer determined that under Georgia statute, the Attorney General is required to seek permission from Governor Brian Kemp to prosecute such cases when local district attorneys have not requested assistance. The court found that the Attorney General’s office failed to secure this necessary authorization before filing the indictment.
According to the judicial order, while the Attorney General possesses significant prosecutorial powers, the state constitution and specific statutes limit independent authority in this context. The dismissal focuses specifically on the RICO counts, which served as the primary framework for the state’s prosecution strategy against the collective group of defendants.
A spokesperson for Attorney General Carr’s office issued a statement forcefully disagreeing with the decision and announcing plans to appeal the ruling. The office maintains that it holds the necessary jurisdiction to prosecute these crimes and affirmed its commitment to pursuing the case despite the procedural setback.
Despite the dismissal of the racketeering charges, legal proceedings continue for a subset of the defendants. Court records indicate that separate charges, including domestic terrorism and arson, remain active against individuals alleged to have committed specific acts of property destruction or violence during the protests.
Legal Ramifications
This dismissal represents a significant procedural check on the scope of the Attorney General’s powers in Georgia, underscoring the statutory requirements for jurisdictional cooperation between state-level prosecutors and the executive branch. If the state’s appeal is unsuccessful, the prosecution will be forced to rely on individual felony charges rather than the collective liability framework provided by the RICO statute, fundamentally altering the complexity of the case. It is important to note that all individuals named in the remaining indictments are presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.
