ATLANTA – Three people linked to protests at the future site of the Atlanta Public Safety Training Center have been arrested on money laundering and charity fraud charges.
The Georgia Bureau of Investigation said the charges stem from the ongoing investigation of “individuals responsible for numerous criminal acts” at the South River Forest site and other metro Atlanta locations.
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Marlon Scott Kautz, 39, of Atlanta, GA, Savannah D Patterson, 30, of Savannah, GA, and Adele Maclean, 42, of Atlanta, GA were charged Wednesday.
Atlanta police officers and agents executed a search warrant and found evidence linking the three suspects to financial crimes. All three will be sent to prison.
NewsChopper 2 was on the scene of the raid Wednesday morning, which was happening at a home in the Edgewood neighborhood.
The address matches a house known as the “torn down house”, which is painted in rainbow colors and scrawled with messages about resistance. The GBI confirmed that the home and hit-and-run is related to their investigation.
According to a statement from Stop Cop City, Kautz, Maclean and Patterson work for the Atlanta Solidarity Fund, a nonprofit and bond fund that provides support to protesters who are arrested.
“Today’s arrests are the latest escalation in the state’s attacks on the right to protest,” organizers said. The group said it plans to demonstrate outside the Dekalb County Jail Thursday night.
Channel 2 Action News spoke with Kautz and Maclean in 2017 after they were ticketed for handing out food to the homeless in downtown Atlanta.
The case is being prosecuted by the Georgia Attorney General’s Office and the DeKalb County District Attorney’s Office.
“Today’s arrests relate to violence that occurred at the site of the future Atlanta Public Safety Training Center and elsewhere,” said Attorney General Chris Carr. “How We have said before, we will not rest until we answer all the people who have funded, organized or participated in this violence and intimidation.”
Gov. Brian Kemp also issued a statement Wednesday, saying law enforcement has worked for months to secure the site from violence by “mostly out-of-state activists.”
“Today, we are proud to share that those who supported their illegal actions are also in custody and will face justice,” Kemp said. “These criminals facilitated and encouraged domestic terrorism with no regard for others, watching as communities faced the destructive consequences of their actions.”
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The South River Forest was the site of more than a year of protests by people opposed to the construction of a new police and fire training facility.
Agitators camped in the woods frequently clashed with police, often throwing Molotov cocktails and fireworks at officers.
During a raid in January, the GBI said a protester opened fire on Georgia state troopers who were trying to clear the area. The protester, Manuel Terán, 26 years old, was killed by the police.
After Teran’s death, protesters held a festival in which some of them set fire to construction equipment. Another group marched through the streets of downtown Atlanta, breaking windows and setting things on fire.
Eight protesters were arrested on domestic terrorism charges.
The ground has since been cleared of protesters.
The construction of the new training center is already underway.
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