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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.<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
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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.<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
NewsChopper 2 was on the scene of the raid Wednesday morning, which was happening at a home in the Edgewood neighborhood.<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
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. <\/p>\n
“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. <\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
The case is being prosecuted by the Georgia Attorney General’s Office and the DeKalb County District Attorney’s Office.<\/p>\n