A Southern Poverty Law Center lawyer charged with domestic terrorism was released Tuesday on bail, the only one of 22 suspects to be granted bond by a magistrate judge in the violent attack on “Cop City,” a future police training center near Atlanta.
A DeKalb County magistrate court judge denied bail for the other 22 suspects while approving a $5,000 consent bond for 28-year-old Thomas Webb Jurgens, who, according to the Center, attended the fiery Sunday siege as a “legal observer” for the leftist National Lawyers Guild.
“Given the fact that he is a [barred] attorney, his claim at this point, he’s a legal observer. I can’t stand here and say there’s evidence he threw something,” said DeKalb County Court Magistrate Judge Anna Davis, according to Atlanta TV station WSB, the local ABC affiliate.
Pete Johnson, DeKalb County chief assistant district attorney, agreed to the consent bond for Mr. Jurgens but not the other 22 suspects charged with domestic terrorism.
Besides Mr. Jurgens, only one other suspect lives in Georgia.
The mother of one of the suspects from Connecticut said she would “accompany him myself” to ensure he returns to court, but the prosecutor argued that the suspects should remain behind bars.
“You had to make a concerted effort to go there,” Mr. Johnson said. “This group changed their clothing into all black-out clothing. They had shields. They had bags of rocks. They had fireworks. They had Molotov cocktails.”
The suspects attended the remote hearing from the DeKalb County Jail wearing orange prison jumpsuits.
23 people charged w/domestic terrorism are preparing to face a judge after Sunday’s violence. @wsbtv pic.twitter.com/WYuNeC5umr
— Michael Seiden (@SeidenWSBTV) March 7, 2023
The Atlanta Police Department said the activists “used the cover of a peaceful protest of the proposed Atlanta Public Safety Training Center to conduct a coordinated attack on construction equipment and police officers.”
“They changed into black clothing and entered the construction area and began to throw large rocks, bricks, Molotov cocktails, and fireworks at police officers,” said the police in a Monday statement.
The SPLC said Tuesday it was “pleased” that the judge agreed to the bond and confirmed that Mr. Jurgens was released on bail.
“As we previously stated, Tom was performing a public service, documenting potential violations of protesters’ rights,” said the center in a statement.
“We are outraged that police officers present at the protest refused to acknowledge Tom’s role as a legal observer and instead chose to arrest him. We are confident that the evidence will demonstrate he was a peaceful legal observer,” the Center said.
Anti-police activists have been fighting the $90 million public-safety training center, which they’ve dubbed “Cop City,” since June 2021, including throwing Molotov cocktails at officers in May 2022 and trying to set a lost driver’s car on fire in November.
Tensions surrounding the facility heightened in January after police shot and killed a protester, 26-year-old Manuel Estaban Paez Teran, after, according to the Georgia Bureau of Investigation. he shot and injured a state trooper as officers sought to clear a tent encampment at the site.
• Matt Delaney contributed to this report.
• Valerie Richardson can be reached at vrichardson@washingtontimes.com.
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