Hundreds of workers were arrested by masked agents Thursday at a massive Hyundai electric vehicle manufacturing plant in southeastern Georgia about 40 minutes west of Savannah. “This in fact was the largest single site enforcement operation in the history of Homeland Security Investigations,” Steve Schrank, special-agent-in-charge of HSI for Georgia and Alabama told the media […]
Madeline Thigpen
Madeline Thigpen is Capital B Atlanta's criminal justice reporter.
Posted inCriminal Justice, Policing
Family of Atlanta Deacon Killed by Police Releases Film to Challenge APD’s Account
In the hours after he was killed by Atlanta police officer Kiran Kimbrough, the police department released a statement describing Deacon Johnny Hollman as the aggressor in the incident that would lead to his death. Now, Hollman’s family is determined to reclaim the narrative which they believe the city has purposefully painted to portray him […]
Posted inCriminal Justice, Incarceration
Sheriff Pushes Back on Finding Tied to Care of Incarcerated Women With Mental Illness
Fulton County Sheriff Patrick Labat is still failing to document the proper treatment of women with serious mental illnesses incarcerated in Fulton County, as is required by a 2022 settlement. The agreement was the result of a class-action lawsuit filed in 2019 by the Georgia Advocacy Office, the Southern Center for Human Rights and Caplan […]
Posted inCriminal Justice, Incarceration
Atlanta Protesters Rally Against Kemp’s National Guard Order Supporting ICE
Dozens of Atlantans protested outside the state capitol Thursday evening in response to Gov. Brian Kemp’s decision to mobilize the state’s National Guard in support of President Donald Trump’s federal immigration crackdown. According to the governor’s order, shared with Capital B Atlanta via email earlier this week, approximately 75 Georgia National Guard soldiers and airmen […]
Posted inCriminal Justice, Incarceration
Communities Over Cages: Coalition Calls on Atlanta to End Jail Lease
As the final year of Fulton County’s four-year lease for use of the Atlanta City Detention Center approaches, a group of local and national criminal justice advocacy groups is calling on the Atlanta City Council to support a resolution to begin planning how the county will remove its 435 inmates from the facility. The coalition […]
Posted inUncategorized
CDC Shooting Is Top of Mind at Gun Violence Rally in Atlanta
The event, that was already planned, took on additional significance after a shooting where the responding police officer and suspect both died.
Posted inCriminal Justice, Policing
FBI Charges Georgia Sheriff in Fatal Shooting of Black Man Freed by Innocence Project
Buck William Aldridge, the sergeant with the Camden County Sheriff’s Office accused of turning a routine traffic stop in 2023 into a deadly altercation that killed 53-year-old Leonard Cure, has been indicted on civil rights violations by a federal grand jury. Just three years before he was killed, Cure, a client of the Innocence Project […]
Posted inCourts, Criminal Justice, Policing
Fani Willis Defends Her Record on Police Brutality Cases
Last week, as we conducted our interview with District Attorney Fani Willis, three grieving families were awaiting news from her office related to their loved ones’ deaths at the hands of Atlanta police officers. This week, the family of Deacon Johnny Hollman finally got their answer: A Fulton County grand jury has declined to bring […]
Posted inCourts, Criminal Justice, Incarceration
Fani Willis Calls Commissioners ‘Liars’ in Jail Funds Fight
As you walk into District Attorney Fani Willis’ office, housed on the third floor of Fulton County Courthouse, you’re greeted by a Malcolm X quote posted along the hallway. “I’m for truth no matter who tells it. I’m for justice, no matter who it’s for or against.” But she’s faced several tests on her ability […]
Posted inCriminal Justice
Garrett Rolfe, Who Shot Rayshard Brooks in 2020, Is Charged in a Bar Fight
Atlanta police officer Garrett Rolfe — who first made headlines in 2020 when he shot and killed Rayshard Brooks — is now being charged with simple battery after a violent altercation with an employee at X Midtown club last month. In a 911 call released a few days after the incident in June, club employee […]