Latest news with #CopCity
The Guardian
18-05-2025
- Politics
- The Guardian
‘Chilling' effect on protesters as Cop City prosecution drags into second year
Nearly two years into the largest Rico, or conspiracy, prosecution against a protest movement in US history, the case is mired in delays and defence claims that proceedings are politically motivated and ruining the lives of the 61 activists and protesters who face trial. Rico cases are usually brought against organized crime, and are associated with the mafia, but in Georgia a sprawling prosecution has been brought against dozens of people opposed to a police training center near Atlanta known as Cop City. The controversial training center – which officially opened its doors last months in an invitation-only ceremony – attracted global headlines after police shot dead Manuel Paez Terán, or 'Tortuguita', an environmental activist protesting against the project, in January 2023. Opposition to the training center, built on a 171-acre footprint in a forest south-east of Atlanta, has included local and national organizations and protesters, centered on concerns such as unchecked police militarization and clearing forests in an era of climate crisis. Atlanta police officials say the center is needed for 'world-class' training, and to attract new officers. Last week, defense attorneys in the halls of Fulton county superior court were still unclear on or unhappy with the results of the most recent hearing in the case. 'So when is it that the trial would begin?' one veteran defense attorney asked another – after the day's proceedings were supposed to have answered at least that question. Another highlighted how the state had introduced more alleged evidence against the 61 defendants tied to a movement to stop Cop City the same morning – despite the court already having given prosecutors two deadlines for discovery material, the last one a year ago. The state's indictment alleges that actions ranging from throwing molotov cocktails to paying for camping supplies for protestors who occupied woods near the proposed site of the training center were 'in furtherance of the conspiracy'. There were already more than five terabytes of evidence that one defense attorney described as 'unorganized, not date-stamped, with some files corrupted' during the hearing. Chaos has accompanied the case since Georgia attorney general Chris Carr's August 2023 indictment of 61 people used Rico to prosecute the case, several defense attorneys said. As the case drags on, 'it's not just your case and your freedom, but what you do in your everyday life that is on hold,' said attorney Xavier T de Janon. De Janon mentioned his client, Jamie Marsicano, as an example: they have graduated law school and passed the North Carolina bar – but won't be admitted until the charges are resolved. Also, the case's high profile means 'a precedence could be set, a potential chilling effect: when people are protesting against the government, they see other people prosecuted for Rico,' said defense attorney Brad Thomson, with the People's Law Office. This is particularly important right now, Thomson added: 'We're seeing with the Trump administration that people are even being deported for protesting.' Judge Kevin Farmer, newly assigned to the case after the previous judge left for another court, reminded a full courtroom at least four times that Georgia's attempt to charge the protesters with criminal conspiracy was already nearly two years old. Defense attorneys reminded the court that numerous irregularities had already occurred. 'Y'all brought this case, at the time you brought it – that was your choice,' Farmer told Georgia's deputy attorney general, John Fowler, at one point, referring to several missed deadlines set by the court. At Wednesday's proceedings, Atlanta's police presence included officers standing across the street taking photos of protesters urging the state to drop the charges, posting up on the corner and parking along the street in front of the courthouse. An overflow courtroom had to be arranged for supporters and media trying to follow along. Farmer, in his first hearing as the new judge on the case, acknowledged its scale. 'I have a 61-person elephant. Normally you try to eat the elephant one bite at a time. I'm gonna try to eat the elephant four or five bites at a time,' he said. The plan: hold trials of small groups of defendants, each one lasting around a month, and then fewer over time, according to Fowler. Farmer said trials could begin as early as June – but then the day's proceedings included the state's intention to release more evidence, recovered from undercover agents, according to Fowler. De Janon said evidence already included 37 days of bodycam and surveillance video and 29 days of audio files. Farmer also said he wanted defense attorneys to file individual motions on behalf of their clients by 30 May, rather than sign on to each other's, as many have done until now. This means the number of motions – on issues such as alleged first amendment violations or misuse of Georgia's Rico statute – could balloon from more than 250 to three or four times that amount, De Janon said. Another wrinkle in the proceeding: the case's former judge, Kimberly M Esmond Adams, issued an order at 10.50pm the night before, denying motions to dismiss filed from one group of defendants – including members of the Atlanta Solidarity Fund (ASF), or ASF, a bail fund whose members are mentioned more than 100 times in the original indictment's 109 pages. Their attorney, Don Samuel, told the court he did not understand why Adams would respond to motions received in September on the night before the hearing, and that the order did not address issues raised in his motions. The ASF defendants may be in the first group to face trial as early as next month, according to the court. An attorney with more than a decade's experience in Atlanta who observed the proceeding said he had 'never seen a judge who was no longer on a case blindside an attorney or group of attorneys with an order sent at the last minute the night before a hearing'. Outside the courthouse afterward, ASF member and defendant Marlon Kautz pointed to the case's continuing impact: 'As long as 61 people are facing decades in prison … simply for being associated with a political movement, protest everywhere is chilled and intimidated.'
Yahoo
14-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Defense attorneys say they were blindsided by new evidence in ‘Stop Cop City' RICO case
A Fulton County judge is promising to streamline a complicated racketeering case with 61 defendants. The charges stem from the Stop Cop City protests and the violence surrounding them. Prosecutors announced on Wednesday that after two years, they'd found new evidence they wanted to introduce. Defense attorneys thought that was very late in this process. Prosecutors said law enforcement gave them new evidence in the case, and they tried to get it to the defense attorneys, more than 30 of them, as quickly as possible. 'For the first time ever, the state revealed that there's more evidence in this case. Fifty-seven gigabytes, actually,' defense attorney Xavier De Janon told the court. That's an issue because Fulton County Judge Kevin Farmer severed all 61 cases and announced he'll start trying them in groups of five. RELATED STORIES: Defendants in Georgia 'Cop City' case say they are in limbo as trial delays continue GA prosecutors drop money laundering counts against 3 Atlanta training center protesters Protesters take over Atlanta City Council meeting by throwing ping-pong balls, yelling The first in the series of trials could start as soon as June. All 61 defendants and their lawyers crowded into courtroom 1D on Wednesday for what's called a status update. They were given a May 30 deadline to file all their motions so the trial could finally begin. Defendant Marlon Kautz insists the trial is politically motivated. 'As long as 61 people are facing decades in prison on RICO charges simply for being associated with a political movement, protest everywhere is chilled,' Kautz told Channel 2's Richard Elliot. De Janon couldn't stress how complicated a RICO case with 61 defendants will be. 'It's no secret with all that, this case is extremely complex. 61 co-defendants, multiple allegations over multiple years,' De Janon said. The state attorney general's office is trying this case. Elliot reached out to that office for comment on this story, but so far, has not heard back from them.
Yahoo
12-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Defendants in Georgia 'Cop City' case say they are in limbo as trial delays continue
ATLANTA (AP) — Single mother Priscilla Grim lost her job. Aspiring writer Julia Dupuis frequently stares at the bedroom ceiling, numb. Geography and environmental studies researcher Hannah Kass is worried about her career prospects after she graduates from her Ph.D. program. The three are among 61 defendants accused by Republican Georgia Attorney General Chris Carr of participating in a yearslong racketeering conspiracy to halt the construction of a police and firefighter training facility just outside Atlanta that critics pejoratively call 'Cop City.' Their cases are at a standstill, 20 months after being indicted under Georgia's Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations law, or RICO, which is likely the largest criminal racketeering case ever filed against protesters in U.S. history, experts say. Trial for five of the defendants was supposed to start last year but got bogged down in procedural issues. The judge overseeing the case then moved to another court. A new judge has set a status hearing for Wednesday. The delays have left people in limbo, facing charges carrying up to 20 years behind bars for what they maintain was legitimate protest, not domestic terrorism. The case also has suppressed a movement that brought together hundreds of activists to protect a wooded patch of land that ultimately was razed for the recently completed $118 million, 85-acre (34-hectare) project. Officials say the project is sorely needed to replace outdated facilities and boost officers' morale. Opponents say it will be a training ground for a militarized police force and its construction has worsened environmental damage in a poor, majority-Black area. Protests escalated after the fatal 2023 shooting of Manuel Esteban Paez Terán, known as Tortuguita, who was camping near the site when authorities launched a clearing operation. Officials said they killed Tortuguita, 26, after the activist shot and wounded a trooper from inside a tent. A family-commissioned autopsy concluded Tortuguita was killed with their hands in the air, but a prosecutor found the officers' use of force was ' objectively reasonable.' The challenges of a 61-person indictment Chris Timmons, a former Georgia prosecutor who has handled numerous RICO cases, said it's understandable such a large case would take a long time to be scheduled. But Timmons said he is surprised prosecutors don't seem to be aggressively pushing for a trial date. 'Cases age like milk, not like wine,' Timmons said. 'The longer we go, memories fade, witnesses become unavailable. If I were in the prosecutors' shoes, I'd want this case tried as soon as possible.' The attorney general's office did not respond to requests for comment. Michael Mears, a professor at Atlanta's John Marshall Law School who studies RICO cases, said prosecutors 'boxed themselves in by charging so many people at one time instead of going after the leadership.' Prosecutors' decision last year to drop money laundering charges against three of the movement's alleged leaders was a sign of the case's weakness. And with the movement having faded from the public consciousness, there is less political appetite for cracking down on the protesters, he said. 'Prosecutors can't just walk away from it, but I think you'll probably see it die a slow death,' Mears said, predicting charges would slowly be dismissed. That is cold comfort for those who say their lives are on hold. Julia Dupuis 'I think most of our lives are just completely frozen in one way or another,' said Dupuis, 26, who lives in Massachusetts. Dupuis was charged with felony intimidation of an officer in 2023 for distributing anti-police flyers near the home of one of the troopers who killed Tortuguita, Dupuis' friend. The trooper called authorities after learning the flyers, which called him a 'murderer,' were placed on his neighbors' mailboxes. Now banned from Georgia, Dupuis struggles to find the motivation to complete freelance copywriting projects that pay for their $650 rent. 'There's a lot I want to do, a lot of hopes and dreams that I feel like are just kind of stuck,' said Dupuis, who dreams of joining New York City's creative writing scene. But most of all, Dupuis misses the activist community that once thrived in the South River Forest. 'The charges have ripped me away from my community and the people that I love so much. That's what I've been longing for every single day: to be back with my people," Dupuis said. Priscilla Grim Grim, 51, is tired of waiting and recently filed for a speedy trial. It's unclear whether her motion will be granted, since the speedy trial deadline passed long ago. 'Let's get this over with," Grim said. "If you think you have something on me, let's do it — which you don't.' Grim, who lives in New York City, is one of many 'Stop Cop City' defendants who post on social media for financial support to help pay for food and rent. Health insurance is out of the question, despite chronic pain in her knee from a prior accident. Besides the couple hundred dollars she gets each month from donors she doesn't know, Grim cobbles together funds through freelance work for activist-oriented causes and is focused on helping her daughter get through college. 'I've never had such a hard time finding employment,' said Grim, who previously held marketing jobs. 'I do really well until the final interview and then everybody goes ghost on me. I think it's because that's when they look my name up.' Prosecutors say Grim was among a throng of black-clad activists in March 2023 who left a music festival, walked through the woods and overtook the construction site, torching equipment and throwing rocks at retreating officers before returning to blend in with festivalgoers. Grim said she was in her tent, having woken up from a nap, when officers arrived at the festival and began making arrests. Grim said she began to run before falling due to her knee injury. 'I heard men screaming at me," Grim said, describing what prompted her to run. "That's scary as a woman. They didn't say they were police or anything.' Authorities, however, said Grim ran upon spotting the officers and tried to hide. After her arrest, Grim lost an email marketing contract with Fordham University, which had been about to give her a full-time position. 'People know me, and when they hear I'm a 'domestic terrorist' they're like, 'What? No! What?!' Grim said. 'I'm not just talking about activist friends saying this — these are friends from parent circles.' Hannah Kass On May 12, 2022, a group of protesters gathered in suburban Atlanta outside the offices of Brasfield & Gorrie, the training center's primary contractor. Some set off fireworks as others broke windows and spray-painted 'Trees not cops,' causing an estimated $30,000 in damage, authorities said. Kass, 32, attended the protest but said she never vandalized anything and was engaging in a research method called 'participant observation,' which involves immersing oneself in the community being studied. 'I was there as both a scholar and an activist,' said Kass, a Ph.D. candidate at the University of Wisconsin-Madison who studies land struggles and teaches environmental social sciences to undergraduates. Authorities arrested her on charges of felony criminal property damage and felony terroristic threats, saying surveillance video shows she helped set off Roman candles. Kass underwent a university disciplinary hearing but said the school has supported her. She worries potential employers might not be as understanding. Like many of her codefendants, Kass rejected prosecutors' plea deal at her RICO arraignment that would have included serving three years in prison. 'I have absolutely nothing to plead guilty for," she said. "I should have every right to protest and believe what I want to believe and associate with whatever political tendencies I wish to associate with.'
The Independent
12-05-2025
- Politics
- The Independent
Defendants in Georgia 'Cop City' case say they are in limbo as trial delays continue
Single mother Priscilla Grim lost her job. Aspiring writer Julia Dupuis frequently stares at the bedroom ceiling, numb. Geography and environmental studies researcher Hannah Kass is worried about her career prospects after she graduates from her Ph.D. program. The three are among 61 defendants accused by Republican Georgia Attorney General Chris Carr of participating in a yearslong racketeering conspiracy to halt the construction of a police and firefighter training facility just outside Atlanta that critics pejoratively call 'Cop City.' Their cases are at a standstill, 20 months after being indicted under Georgia's Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations law, or RICO, which is likely the largest criminal racketeering case ever filed against protesters in U.S. history, experts say. Trial for five of the defendants was supposed to start last year but got bogged down in procedural issues. The judge overseeing the case then moved to another court. A new judge has set a status hearing for Wednesday. The delays have left people in limbo, facing charges carrying up to 20 years behind bars for what they maintain was legitimate protest, not domestic terrorism. The case also has suppressed a movement that brought together hundreds of activists to protect a wooded patch of land that ultimately was razed for the recently completed $118 million, 85-acre (34-hectare) project. Officials say the project is sorely needed to replace outdated facilities and boost officers' morale. Opponents say it will be a training ground for a militarized police force and its construction has worsened environmental damage in a poor, majority-Black area. Protests escalated after the fatal 2023 shooting of Manuel Esteban Paez Terán, known as Tortuguita, who was camping near the site when authorities launched a clearing operation. Officials said they killed Tortuguita, 26, after the activist shot and wounded a trooper from inside a tent. A family-commissioned autopsy concluded Tortuguita was killed with their hands in the air, but a prosecutor found the officers' use of force was ' objectively reasonable.' The challenges of a 61-person indictment Chris Timmons, a former Georgia prosecutor who has handled numerous RICO cases, said it's understandable such a large case would take a long time to be scheduled. But Timmons said he is surprised prosecutors don't seem to be aggressively pushing for a trial date. 'Cases age like milk, not like wine,' Timmons said. 'The longer we go, memories fade, witnesses become unavailable. If I were in the prosecutors' shoes, I'd want this case tried as soon as possible.' The attorney general's office did not respond to requests for comment. Michael Mears, a professor at Atlanta's John Marshall Law School who studies RICO cases, said prosecutors 'boxed themselves in by charging so many people at one time instead of going after the leadership.' Prosecutors' decision last year to drop money laundering charges against three of the movement's alleged leaders was a sign of the case's weakness. And with the movement having faded from the public consciousness, there is less political appetite for cracking down on the protesters, he said. 'Prosecutors can't just walk away from it, but I think you'll probably see it die a slow death,' Mears said, predicting charges would slowly be dismissed. That is cold comfort for those who say their lives are on hold. Julia Dupuis 'I think most of our lives are just completely frozen in one way or another,' said Dupuis, 26, who lives in Massachusetts. Dupuis was charged with felony intimidation of an officer in 2023 for distributing anti-police flyers near the home of one of the troopers who killed Tortuguita, Dupuis' friend. The trooper called authorities after learning the flyers, which called him a 'murderer,' were placed on his neighbors' mailboxes. Now banned from Georgia, Dupuis struggles to find the motivation to complete freelance copywriting projects that pay for their $650 rent. 'There's a lot I want to do, a lot of hopes and dreams that I feel like are just kind of stuck,' said Dupuis, who dreams of joining New York City's creative writing scene. But most of all, Dupuis misses the activist community that once thrived in the South River Forest. 'The charges have ripped me away from my community and the people that I love so much. That's what I've been longing for every single day: to be back with my people," Dupuis said. Priscilla Grim Grim, 51, is tired of waiting and recently filed for a speedy trial. It's unclear whether her motion will be granted, since the speedy trial deadline passed long ago. 'Let's get this over with," Grim said. "If you think you have something on me, let's do it — which you don't.' Grim, who lives in New York City, is one of many 'Stop Cop City' defendants who post on social media for financial support to help pay for food and rent. Health insurance is out of the question, despite chronic pain in her knee from a prior accident. Besides the couple hundred dollars she gets each month from donors she doesn't know, Grim cobbles together funds through freelance work for activist-oriented causes and is focused on helping her daughter get through college. 'I've never had such a hard time finding employment,' said Grim, who previously held marketing jobs. 'I do really well until the final interview and then everybody goes ghost on me. I think it's because that's when they look my name up.' Prosecutors say Grim was among a throng of black-clad activists in March 2023 who left a music festival, walked through the woods and overtook the construction site, torching equipment and throwing rocks at retreating officers before returning to blend in with festivalgoers. Grim said she was in her tent, having woken up from a nap, when officers arrived at the festival and began making arrests. Grim said she began to run before falling due to her knee injury. 'I heard men screaming at me," Grim said, describing what prompted her to run. "That's scary as a woman. They didn't say they were police or anything.' Authorities, however, said Grim ran upon spotting the officers and tried to hide. After her arrest, Grim lost an email marketing contract with Fordham University, which had been about to give her a full-time position. 'People know me, and when they hear I'm a 'domestic terrorist' they're like, 'What? No! What?!' Grim said. 'I'm not just talking about activist friends saying this — these are friends from parent circles.' Hannah Kass On May 12, 2022, a group of protesters gathered in suburban Atlanta outside the offices of Brasfield & Gorrie, the training center's primary contractor. Some set off fireworks as others broke windows and spray-painted 'Trees not cops,' causing an estimated $30,000 in damage, authorities said. Kass, 32, attended the protest but said she never vandalized anything and was engaging in a research method called 'participant observation,' which involves immersing oneself in the community being studied. 'I was there as both a scholar and an activist,' said Kass, a Ph.D. candidate at the University of Wisconsin-Madison who studies land struggles and teaches environmental social sciences to undergraduates. Authorities arrested her on charges of felony criminal property damage and felony terroristic threats, saying surveillance video shows she helped set off Roman candles. Kass underwent a university disciplinary hearing but said the school has supported her. She worries potential employers might not be as understanding. Like many of her codefendants, Kass rejected prosecutors' plea deal at her RICO arraignment that would have included serving three years in prison. 'I have absolutely nothing to plead guilty for," she said. "I should have every right to protest and believe what I want to believe and associate with whatever political tendencies I wish to associate with.'
Associated Press
12-05-2025
- Politics
- Associated Press
Defendants in Georgia 'Cop City' case say they are in limbo as trial delays continue
ATLANTA (AP) — Single mother Priscilla Grim lost her job. Aspiring writer Julia Dupuis frequently stares at the bedroom ceiling, numb. Geography and environmental studies researcher Hannah Kass is worried about her career prospects after she graduates from her Ph.D. program. The three are among 61 defendants accused by Republican Georgia Attorney General Chris Carr of participating in a yearslong racketeering conspiracy to halt the construction of a police and firefighter training facility just outside Atlanta that critics pejoratively call 'Cop City.' Their cases are at a standstill, 20 months after being indicted under Georgia's Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations law, or RICO, which is likely the largest criminal racketeering case ever filed against protesters in U.S. history, experts say. Trial for five of the defendants was supposed to start last year but got bogged down in procedural issues. The judge overseeing the case then moved to another court. A new judge has set a status hearing for Wednesday. The delays have left people in limbo, facing charges carrying up to 20 years behind bars for what they maintain was legitimate protest, not domestic terrorism. The case also has suppressed a movement that brought together hundreds of activists to protect a wooded patch of land that ultimately was razed for the recently completed $118 million, 85-acre (34-hectare) project. Officials say the project is sorely needed to replace outdated facilities and boost officers' morale. Opponents say it will be a training ground for a militarized police force and its construction has worsened environmental damage in a poor, majority-Black area. Protests escalated after the fatal 2023 shooting of Manuel Esteban Paez Terán, known as Tortuguita, who was camping near the site when authorities launched a clearing operation. Officials said they killed Tortuguita, 26, after the activist shot and wounded a trooper from inside a tent. A family-commissioned autopsy concluded Tortuguita was killed with their hands in the air, but a prosecutor found the officers' use of force was ' objectively reasonable.' The challenges of a 61-person indictment Chris Timmons, a former Georgia prosecutor who has handled numerous RICO cases, said it's understandable such a large case would take a long time to be scheduled. But Timmons said he is surprised prosecutors don't seem to be aggressively pushing for a trial date. 'Cases age like milk, not like wine,' Timmons said. 'The longer we go, memories fade, witnesses become unavailable. If I were in the prosecutors' shoes, I'd want this case tried as soon as possible.' The attorney general's office did not respond to requests for comment. Michael Mears, a professor at Atlanta's John Marshall Law School who studies RICO cases, said prosecutors 'boxed themselves in by charging so many people at one time instead of going after the leadership.' Prosecutors' decision last year to drop money laundering charges against three of the movement's alleged leaders was a sign of the case's weakness. And with the movement having faded from the public consciousness, there is less political appetite for cracking down on the protesters, he said. 'Prosecutors can't just walk away from it, but I think you'll probably see it die a slow death,' Mears said, predicting charges would slowly be dismissed. That is cold comfort for those who say their lives are on hold. Julia Dupuis 'I think most of our lives are just completely frozen in one way or another,' said Dupuis, 26, who lives in Massachusetts. Dupuis was charged with felony intimidation of an officer in 2023 for distributing anti-police flyers near the home of one of the troopers who killed Tortuguita, Dupuis' friend. The trooper called authorities after learning the flyers, which called him a 'murderer,' were placed on his neighbors' mailboxes. Now banned from Georgia, Dupuis struggles to find the motivation to complete freelance copywriting projects that pay for their $650 rent. 'There's a lot I want to do, a lot of hopes and dreams that I feel like are just kind of stuck,' said Dupuis, who dreams of joining New York City's creative writing scene. But most of all, Dupuis misses the activist community that once thrived in the South River Forest. 'The charges have ripped me away from my community and the people that I love so much. That's what I've been longing for every single day: to be back with my people,' Dupuis said. Priscilla Grim Grim, 51, is tired of waiting and recently filed for a speedy trial. It's unclear whether her motion will be granted, since the speedy trial deadline passed long ago. 'Let's get this over with,' Grim said. 'If you think you have something on me, let's do it — which you don't.' Grim, who lives in New York City, is one of many 'Stop Cop City' defendants who post on social media for financial support to help pay for food and rent. Health insurance is out of the question, despite chronic pain in her knee from a prior accident. Besides the couple hundred dollars she gets each month from donors she doesn't know, Grim cobbles together funds through freelance work for activist-oriented causes and is focused on helping her daughter get through college. 'I've never had such a hard time finding employment,' said Grim, who previously held marketing jobs. 'I do really well until the final interview and then everybody goes ghost on me. I think it's because that's when they look my name up.' Prosecutors say Grim was among a throng of black-clad activists in March 2023 who left a music festival, walked through the woods and overtook the construction site, torching equipment and throwing rocks at retreating officers before returning to blend in with festivalgoers. Grim said she was in her tent, having woken up from a nap, when officers arrived at the festival and began making arrests. Grim said she began to run before falling due to her knee injury. 'I heard men screaming at me,' Grim said, describing what prompted her to run. 'That's scary as a woman. They didn't say they were police or anything.' Authorities, however, said Grim ran upon spotting the officers and tried to hide. After her arrest, Grim lost an email marketing contract with Fordham University, which had been about to give her a full-time position. 'People know me, and when they hear I'm a 'domestic terrorist' they're like, 'What? No! What?!' Grim said. 'I'm not just talking about activist friends saying this — these are friends from parent circles.' Hannah Kass On May 12, 2022, a group of protesters gathered in suburban Atlanta outside the offices of Brasfield & Gorrie, the training center's primary contractor. Some set off fireworks as others broke windows and spray-painted 'Trees not cops,' causing an estimated $30,000 in damage, authorities said. Kass, 32, attended the protest but said she never vandalized anything and was engaging in a research method called 'participant observation,' which involves immersing oneself in the community being studied. 'I was there as both a scholar and an activist,' said Kass, a Ph.D. candidate at the University of Wisconsin-Madison who studies land struggles and teaches environmental social sciences to undergraduates. Authorities arrested her on charges of felony criminal property damage and felony terroristic threats, saying surveillance video shows she helped set off Roman candles. Kass underwent a university disciplinary hearing but said the school has supported her. She worries potential employers might not be as understanding. Like many of her codefendants, Kass rejected prosecutors' plea deal at her RICO arraignment that would have included serving three years in prison. 'I have absolutely nothing to plead guilty for,' she said. 'I should have every right to protest and believe what I want to believe and associate with whatever political tendencies I wish to associate with.'
