Besides the pending case against former President Donald Trump and 18 others for allegedly attempting to overturn Georgia’s 2020 election results, the trial of rapper Young Thug — legal name Jeffery Lamar Williams — may be the most significant criminal proceeding in Atlanta since the public school cheating scandal nearly a decade ago. The trial, […]
Criminal Justice
Posted inCourts, Criminal Justice
How to Get Free Legal Help in ATL
Legal aid services are for people who need legal assistance or representation but are unable to access it due to prohibitive costs. These services are primarily focused on civil legal matters because criminal prosecution in Georgia is handled by county district attorney’s offices with criminal defense for the indigent provided free of charge by the […]
Posted inCop City, Criminal Justice
Environmental Impact Targeted in New Push Against ‘Cop City’
Opponents of the developing Atlanta Public Safety Training Center have adopted a new strategy to stop the so-called “Cop City” from being built. Activists filed a complaint with the Environmental Protection Agency’s Office of External Civil Rights Compliance last week, arguing that the 85-acre site in unincorporated southern DeKalb County is damaging the ecosystem in […]
Posted inCriminal Justice, Policing
‘Release the tape!’ Johnny Hollman’s Relatives Bring Emotional Pleas to City Council
The Atlanta City Council on Monday called for police to release body camera video of Johnny Hollman’s fatal encounter with an officer, responding to nearly two months of passionate pleas from the 62-year-old church deacon’s relatives. The council members unanimously approved a resolution urging Mayor Andre Dickens and the Atlanta Police Department to release the […]
Posted inCop City
Lawmaker Nixes Plan to Introduce ‘Cop City’ Measure After City Attorney Input
The latest effort to let Atlanta voters weigh in on the public safety training center, dubbed “Cop City” by critics, via a ballot referendum was upended by municipal attorneys Monday afternoon, according to a lawmaker. Post 3 At-Large Atlanta City Council member Keisha Sean Waites said she and fellow lawmaker Liliana Bakhtiari had planned to […]
Posted inPublic Safety
AUC Students React to Jacksonville Mass Shooting, Local Bomb Threat
The past few days have been tense on HBCU campuses amid violent threats and increasing concerns about racist attacks. A white supremacist shot and killed three Black people at a Dollar General store in Jacksonville, Florida on Saturday — but he was first seen putting on a tactical vest on the campus of a nearby […]
Posted inPublic Safety
CSX Officials Offer Limited Solutions to Idling Trains in Hunter Hills
Idling trains that block streets and walkways in Atlanta’s Hunter Hills neighborhood for several hours are “inexcusable,” railroad officials from CSX Transportation told residents in a community meeting Wednesday night. But shorter blockages that have obstructed motorists, school children, and emergency vehicles may be unavoidable right now, they said. The railroad officials said government intervention […]
Posted inCop City
Organizers Make Final Push on ‘Cop City’ Referendum
Mary Hooks was the first person to sign the petition for a ballot referendum on the Atlanta Public Safety Training Center, dubbed “Cop City.” More than six weeks later, she now spends her days canvassing the streets of Atlanta collecting signatures from registered voters to get the issue on the ballot. The Cop City Vote […]
Posted inCop City
Mayor’s Task Force Proposes Community-Centric Changes for Atlanta’s ‘Cop City’
A task force assembled by Mayor Andre Dickens has announced its recommendations to make the controversial public safety training center known as “Cop City” more “community-oriented.” The group proposes involving community members in developing anti-bias courses and other police training curriculum that acknowledge the “difficult history” of policing in Atlanta. “[The task force subgroups] all […]
Posted inPublic Safety
Atlanta’s ‘Broken Promises’: $67M for Cop City, Violence Prevention Left Behind
This story was published in partnership with The Trace. In December 2021, Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms sent a news release announcing the formation of the city’s first-ever Office of Violence Reduction. The office was to be charged with coordinating efforts between community-led violence intervention programs and dispersing some $5 million in grants to organizations […]