First "Stop Cop City" protester faces trial in Georgia RICO case
Why it matters: The state prosecution of 19-year-old Ayla King could preview how Georgia will pursue the remaining 60-plus "Stop Cop City" cases, and shape the future of protest and criminal law in the state.
Catch up quick: King, a Massachusetts resident, was one of dozens of people who prosecutors allege are "militant anarchists" who tried to halt the police and fire academy's construction with vandalism and arson.
King, who uses they/them pronouns, is accused of storming the DeKalb County construction site in March 2023 with more than 20 other masked activists after a nearby protest concert.
King faces one racketeering charge and could be sentenced to five to 20 years in prison, the AP reports. Their attorney, Surinder Chadha Jimenez, said King is innocent.
State of play: King requested a speedy trial in late 2023, not long after their indictment along with 60 other people who are accused of domestic terrorism, racketeering, money laundering and more.
Their case has been anything but speedy, lumbering along thanks to a procedural debate over whether the trial commenced within the required time frame.
Zoom out: Supporters and free speech advocates say the indictments, along with new state laws stiffening punishments on people who commit vandalism during protests, are aimed at chilling activism.
Efforts to halt the training center with legal action and a referendum have failed in the courts or become mired in appeals. The $118 million public safety academy on 85 acres opened earlier this year.
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The Hill
an hour ago
- The Hill
Putin agreed to let US, Europe offer NATO-style security protections for Ukraine, Trump envoy says
NEW YORK (AP) — Special U.S. envoy Steve Witkoff said Sunday that Russian leader Vladimir Putin agreed at his summit with President Donald Trump to allow the U.S. and European allies to offer Ukraine a security guarantee resembling NATO's collective defense mandate as part of an eventual deal to end the 3 1/2-year war. 'We were able to win the following concession: That the United States could offer Article 5-like protection, which is one of the real reasons why Ukraine wants to be in NATO,' he said on CNN's 'State of the Union.' He added that it 'was the first time we had ever heard the Russians agree to that.' European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, speaking at a news conference in Brussels with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, said that 'we welcome President Trump's willingness to contribute to Article 5-like security guarantees for Ukraine. and the 'Coalition of the willing' — including the European Union — is ready to do its share.' Witkoff, offering some of the first details of what was discussed at Friday's summit in Alaska, said the two sides agreeing to 'robust security guarantees that I would describe as game-changing.' He added that Russia said that it would make a legislative commitment not to go after any additional territory in Ukraine. Zelenskyy thanked the United States for recent signals that Washington is willing to support security guarantees for Ukraine, but said the details remained unclear. 'It is important that America agrees to work with Europe to provide security guarantees for Ukraine,' he said, 'But there are no details how it will work, and what America's role will be, Europe's role will be and what the EU can do, and this is our main task, we need security to work in practice like Article 5 of NATO, and we consider EU accession to be part of the security guarantees.' Witkoff defended Trump's decision to abandon his push for Russian to agree to an immediate ceasefire, saying the president had pivoted toward a peace deal because so much progress was made. 'We covered almost all the other issues necessary for a peace deal,' Witkoff said, without elaborating. 'We began to see some moderation in the way they're thinking about getting to a final peace deal,' he said. Secretary of State Marco Rubio insisted there would be 'additional consequences' as Trump warned before meeting with Putin, if they failed to reach a ceasefire. But Rubio noted that there wasn't going to be any sort of deal on a truce reached when Ukraine wasn't at the talks. 'Now, ultimately, if there isn't a peace agreement, if there isn't an end of this war, the president's been clear, there are going to be consequences,' Rubio said on ABC's 'This Week.' 'But we're trying to avoid that. And the way we're trying to avoid those consequences is with an even better consequence, which is peace, the end of hostilities.' Rubio, who is also Trump's national security adviser, said he did not believe issuing new sanctions on Russia would force Putin to accept a ceasefire, noting that the latter isn't off the table but that 'the best way to end this conflict is through a full peace deal.' 'The minute you issue new sanctions, your ability to get them to the table, our ability to get them to table will be severely diminished,' Rubio said on NBC's 'Meet the Press.' He also said 'we're not at the precipice of a peace agreement' and that getting there would not be easy and would take a lot of work. 'We made progress in the sense that we identified potential areas of agreement, but there remains some big areas of disagreement. So we're still a long ways off,' Rubio said. Zelenskyy and Europeans leaders are scheduled to meet Monday with Trump at the White House. They heard from the president after his meeting with Putin. 'I think everybody agreed that we had made progress. Maybe not enough for a peace deal, but we are on the path for the first time,' Witkoff said. He added: 'The fundamental issue, which is some sort of land swap, which is obviously ultimately in the control of the Ukrainians — that could not have been discussed at this meeting' with Putin. 'We intend to discuss it on Monday. Hopefully we have some clarity on it and hopefully that ends up in a peace deal very, very soon.'
The Hill
an hour ago
- The Hill
Hong Kong pro-democracy activists granted asylum in Australia and Britain
TAIPEI, Taiwan (AP) — A Hong Kong pro-democracy activist and a former lawmaker who are wanted by the city's authorities have been granted asylum in Great Britain and Australia, respectively. Tony Chung, an activist who was imprisoned under Hong Kong's sweeping national security law, and Ted Hui, a former lawmaker who was facing trial for his role in anti-government protests in 2019, both announced over the weekend that they have received asylum in the countries where they now live. They are among dozens of activists on the run from Hong Kong authorities. Civil liberties in the city have been greatly eroded since Beijing in 2020 imposed a national security law essentially criminalizing dissent in the former British colony. Both Beijing and Hong Kong have hailed the security law as bringing stability to the financial hub. Hui, who fled Hong Kong in December 2020, is part of a group of overseas activists who are targeted by police bounties of up to 1 million Hong Kong dollars ($127,800). The former lawmaker is now working as a lawyer in Adelaide. He announced on Facebook on Saturday that he and his family have been granted protection visas. 'I express my sincere gratitude to the Government of Australia — both present and former — for recognising our need for asylum and granting us this protection,' Hui wrote. 'This decision reflects values of freedom, justice, and compassion that my family will never take for granted.' While in Hong Kong, Hui had been an outspoken pro-democracy lawmaker. He was also known for disrupting a legislative session after he threw a rotten plant in the chamber to stop a debate of the national anthem bill — controversial legislation making it illegal to insult the Chinese national anthem. He was subsequently fined 52,000 Hong Kong dollars ($6,600) for the act. Chung, who had advocated for Hong Kong's independence, was sentenced to almost four years in prison for secession and money laundering in 2020. He was released on a supervision order, during which he traveled to Japan, from where he fled to Britain seeking asylum. In a post on social media platform Threads on Sunday, he expressed his excitement at receiving refugee status in Britain along with a five-year resident permit. He said that despite his challenges over the past few years, including persistent mental health problems, he remains committed to his activism. British and Australian authorities didn't immediately comment on the activists' statuses. Hong Kong's government did not comment directly on the cases but issued a statement on Saturday condemning 'the harbouring of criminals in any form by any country.' 'Any country that harbours Hong Kong criminals in any form shows contempt for the rule of law, grossly disrespects Hong Kong's legal systems and barbarically interferes in the affairs of Hong Kong,' the statement read.
Newsweek
an hour ago
- Newsweek
White House Responds to Trump-Putin Documents Being Found in Hotel Printer
Based on facts, either observed and verified firsthand by the reporter, or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources. Newsweek AI is in beta. Translations may contain inaccuracies—please refer to the original content. The White House downplayed reports that sensitive documents from President Donald Trump's summit with Russian President Vladimir Putin were found in a hotel printer in Anchorage, Alaska. White House Deputy Press Secretary Anna Kelly referred to the materials as a "multi-page lunch menu" and said their discovery by hotel guests does not compromise national security. "It's hilarious that NPR is publishing a multi-page lunch menu and calling it a 'security breach,'" Kelly told NewsNation. Newsweek has contacted the White House for comment. President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin arrive for a press conference at Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson in Anchorage, Alaska, on August 15, 2025. President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin arrive for a press conference at Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson in Anchorage, Alaska, on August 15, 2025. Julia Demaree Nikhinson/AP Why It Matters The documents, first reported by NPR, included plans for a canceled luncheon, seating charts, a gift presentation and phone numbers for U.S. and Russian officials. Among the items detailed were a menu featuring green salad, filet mignon, halibut, mashed potatoes, asparagus, and crème brûlée. Phonetic guides for Russian names were also included. Trump and Putin met on Friday at Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson in Anchorage, Alaska, to discuss ending the war in Ukraine that Putin launched in February 2022. The White House said the meeting was requested by Putin. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky was not invited. President Donald Trump, left, and Russia's President Vladimir Putin arrive for a press conference at Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson, on August 15, 2025, in Anchorage, Alaska. President Donald Trump, left, and Russia's President Vladimir Putin arrive for a press conference at Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson, on August 15, 2025, in Anchorage, Alaska. Julia Demaree Nikhinson/AP What To Know The documents were found on a printer by three guests around 9 a.m. on the day of the summit at Hotel Captain Cook, a four-star hotel located 20 minutes from the Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson in Anchorage. The eight pages carried U.S. State Department insignia and contained information on the summit meetings, locations, and phone numbers for three U.S. government staffers. The first page outlined the sequence of Friday's meetings, including a note that the president would present a gift to Putin, according to photos of the documents taken by one of the guests and seen by NPR. Pages two through five listed the names of senior U.S. and Russian officials present in Alaska that day, with page two also including phone numbers for three U.S. advance staffers, the outlet reported. Pages six and seven included the lunch seating chart and menu. Despite Putin's claims about wanting a peace deal with Ukraine, the Kremlin's military continued attacking Ukrainian forces as recently as Friday, while the Russian leader was preparing to meet with Trump, ostensibly to discuss a ceasefire agreement. Russia and Ukraine are also far apart on their terms for peace. Zelensky has refused to agree to a ceasefire deal that doesn't include security guarantees for his country, while Putin demands Ukraine be shut out from NATO and cede to Russia four territories Moscow claims it has annexed. Following the meeting, Oleksandr Merezhko, chairman of the Ukrainian parliament's foreign affairs committee, told The New York Times that Putin used the meeting to signal that he is not isolated and that, in Merezhko's view, the Russian leader gained an advantage in shaping the narrative during joint remarks with Trump. Meanwhile, Trump hand-delivered a letter to Putin written by First Lady Melania Trump, regarding the impact of the war in Ukraine on children according to Reuters. The contents of the letter remain unknown. In March 2023, the International Criminal Court issued an arrest warrant for Putin over the alleged abduction of Ukrainian children. Russian authorities said the children were moved from war zones for their safety and described the warrant as unacceptable. According to Kyiv, about 20,000 Ukrainian children have been abducted since February 2022, which it said met the United Nations' definition of genocide. Following the meeting on Friday, Trump appeared on Fox News and said it was up to Zelensky to secure a ceasefire agreement after the U.S. president failed to strike a deal. "Now it is really up to President Zelensky to get it done," Trump told Fox News' Sean Hannity. "I would also say the European nations have to get involved a little bit." What People Are Saying Trump said on August 15: "I've always had a fantastic relationship with President Putin, with Vladimir. "We were interfered with by the Russia hoax that made it a little tougher to deal with, but he understood it." Trump did not explain what he meant by "the Russia hoax." What Happens Next Further peace talks seem likely to take place.
