Sandy Springs is repealing a controversial ordinance aimed at curbing the expression of hate speech, after determining the law is constitutionally flawed. Cory Isaacson, the Georgia legal director of the American Civil Liberties Union, said, the ordinance would have “shutdown speech and expression across the whole city” During a city council meeting, Tuesday, Isaacson praised […]
Tag: First Amendment
Posted inAdrianne Murchison, Columns
Move to stop hate speech in Sandy Springs sparks new concerns
In an effort to curb hate speech and regulate flyer distribution, Sandy Springs has approved new ordinances that some say may violate First Amendment rights. The American Civil Liberties Union and the Georgia First Amendment Foundation both say that the new laws infringe on freedom of speech and freedom of the press. Flyers and pamphlets […]
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Four ‘Cop City’ protesters and a journalist sue over arrests on day of training center vote
Four protesters and a journalist claim they were unlawfully arrested by Atlanta Police Department (APD) officers as retaliation for a protest against the public safety training center on the day the City Council approved its lease. According to lawsuit complaints filed in U.S. District Court, the arrests happened as the plaintiffs left a Sept. 8, […]
Posted inColumns
Trio targeted in ‘Cop City’ RICO charges have a history of exposing police ‘misdeeds’
Like a bad airplane-reading thriller, the controversial RICO indictment against “Defend the Atlanta Forest” protesters spins its yarn about anti-police conspirators around a core trio of characters from a local bail fund, who are presented as shadowy behind-the-scenes figures caught in the spotlight of justice. It’s a tale that leaves out its own biggest plot twist. The […]
Posted inLatest News
Major human rights, press freedom groups condemn RICO charges against ‘Cop City’ activists
A diverse array of major human rights and press freedom groups are among 90 organizations calling on Georgia Attorney General Chris Carr to drop controversial racketeering charges against “Cop City” protesters. Among signatories to a letter announced Sept. 28 are Amnesty International USA, the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression (FIRE), the Center for Constitutional Rights, the Freedom […]
Posted inColumns
Lawyer in Trump election case warns of RICO cases’ ‘dire’ First Amendment impacts
Georgia’s two nationally spotlighted RICO prosecutions – respectively targeting Trump’s election scheme and “Cop City” protesters – are being cheered or jeered by political partisans, depending on whose agenda is served. But a prominent civil liberties attorney defending one of Trump’s advisors said both cases show how racketeering laws are a “dire” threat to the […]
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61 hit with RICO charges in ‘Cop City’ cases, setting up a First Amendment battle
The Defend the Atlanta Forest (DATF) movement opposing the public safety training center is accused of being a criminal organization in a sprawling indictment charging 61 people with racketeering and other major felonies, setting up a First Amendment legal battle. The indictment, dated Aug. 29 but released Sept. 5, was presented in Fulton County Superior […]
Posted inColumns
Settlements in New York’s major police misconduct cases include at least two protesters with Georgia ties
At least two protesters with Georgia ties are among hundreds eligible for more than $20 million in settlements from two New York City police misconduct class action lawsuits – a legal strategy that has yet to be used here despite some similarities with “Cop City” and Black Lives Matter cases. One of the class-action protesters […]
Posted inColumns
‘Cop City’ policing is ripe for a federal civil rights investigation
The time is ripe for a U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) civil rights investigation of “Cop City” protest policing, as Atlanta’s long-burning pattern of retaliatory arrests against protesters and journalists is exploding with the fuel of “domestic terrorism” narratives. For nearly 15 years, the City has proven incapable of policing its own police abuses in […]
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‘Cop City’ cases make Atlanta and Georgia buck national trend of declining arrests of journalists
Atlanta and Georgia bucked a national trend of declining arrests of journalists in 2022 with two “Cop City” protest coverage incidents, according to a recent analysis of U.S. Press Freedom Tracker data. The Tracker is a national database operated by the New York-based Freedom of the Press Foundation in partnership with other groups, including the […]
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Authorities arrest training center protest support leaders, paint movement as criminal organization
Leaders of a legal support organization for protesters against Atlanta’s public safety training center were arrested on fraud and money laundering charges on May 31 as Gov. Brian Kemp and other authorities painted the entire protest movement as a “criminal organization” of terrorists. Protesters called it an attack on free speech and planned a rally […]
Posted inColumns
Georgia Tech emails about ‘Cop City’ post censorship read like an unfunny sitcom
Concern about the “inflammatory” use of the term “Cop City” was one reason behind Georgia Tech’s censorship last month of a student journalist’s first-person account of critical reporting on Atlanta’s controversial public safety training center, internal emails reveal. The emails read like a script for a sitcom about self-important bureaucrats and butt-covering bosses screwing up […]
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Journalist files federal lawsuit over police interrogation at public safety training center site
A journalist who was detained and pressured to delete video by police at Atlanta’s public safety training center site has filed a federal lawsuit alleging civil rights violations that are part of a pattern of retaliation against free speech. The detention last year of Michael Watchulonis while covering the “Defend the Atlanta Forest” protests was […]
Posted inLatest News
Georgia Tech’s removal of student journalist’s account of training center reporting raises free speech concern
Georgia Tech has removed from its website a student journalist’s first-person account of critical reporting on Atlanta’s controversial public safety training center, raising issues of free speech and academic freedom.
Posted inLatest News
Judge denies dismissal of lawsuit alleging APD unlawfully arrested Black Lives Matter protesters
A federal lawsuit alleging that Atlanta Police Department officers unlawfully arrested a group of Black Lives Matter protesters in 2021 will proceed.
Posted inLatest News
Journalist to sue over police stop during training center protest coverage as free-speech complaints mount
A journalist who was detained and pressured to delete video by police at Atlanta’s public safety training center site is preparing to sue.
Posted inLatest News
Media group wins free-press battle over land-swap lawsuit document demands
The Atlanta Community Press Collective has prevailed in a legal battle over attorneys’ demands for it to hand over unpublished reporting and financial records.
Posted inLatest News
Human rights, press freedom groups oppose training center protesters’ terrorism charges
Major human rights and press freedom groups have signed onto a letter calling for dismissal of domestic terrorism charges against protesters of Atlanta’s public safety training center.
Posted inLatest News
Land-swap lawsuit defendant seeks documents from media and activists, raising First Amendment objections
Attorneys for the developer sued for a DeKalb County parkland swap have demanded extensive internal documents from media and activists, raising First Amendment objections.
Posted inLatest News
Driver arrested for filming police claims to be journalist, considers lawsuit
The man controversially arrested while filming police from a car at Atlanta’s public safety training center last month claims he was working as a journalist. The police claim he was performing “countersurveillance” for an “extremist group.”
