Atlanta, GA – Jamie Marsicano, one of dozens of defendants embroiled in the sprawling legal backlash brought against opponents of “Cop City,” had a state-level Domestic Terrorism charge dropped in DeKalb County on Thursday. The dismissal represents the latest in a series of legal setbacks for the state as it moves forward with its expansive effort to prosecute those who mobilized to stop Cop City, a massive police training compound south of metro Atlanta in the South River Forest.

More than 29 months after Jamie was arrested and charged under Georgia’s domestic terrorism statute for their participation in the movement against Cop City, the state hadn’t brought an indictment against the North Carolina resident, leaving them in limbo as they waited for a decision from the court regarding their charge and potential trial.

In a ruling issued August 14, Judge Gregory Adams determined the pending charge had disrupted Jamie’s life to the point that their due process rights had been violated. Further, Adams agreed with the defense’s argument that the state was delaying Jamie’s indictment in order to get a tactical advantage in the ongoing Racketeering Influenced Criminal Organization (RICO) case unfolding in neighboring Fulton County. The court also found that Marsicano’s right to a speedy trial had been violated.

“Of course, we’re relieved and uplifted that the judge came to the right decision,” Xavier T. de Janon, Marsicano’s attorney, told Unicorn Riot after the ruling came down.

Marsicano was arrested at the South River Music Festival near Atlanta on March 5, 2023. They traveled to join the event, which was organized as part of a week of action against the Atlanta Public Safety Training Center, known popularly as Cop City, while on spring break in their second year of law school.

The festival, put on in the weeks after police killed Manuel “Tortuguita” Terán while they camped in the woods to oppose Cop City, was meant to rally the movement against the facility and bring people together in the aftermath of Tortuguita’s killing.

On the second day of the festival, a militant action against a Cop City construction site took place about three-quarters of a mile from the musical event. Hours later, police from multiple agencies raided the music festival and arrested 35 people. Marsicano was charged along with 22 others under Georgia’s Domestic Terrorism law on March 6.

Jamie was later indicted as one of 61 people the state is accusing of having participated in what it describes as a far-reaching criminal conspiracy to stop the $118 million police training facility.

In the years since their arrest, Marsicano had twice petitioned the court for a speedy trial – once in March 2024 and again in May 2025. Despite this, the state didn’t indict Marsicano on the domestic terrorism charge, citing an ongoing investigation.

Marsicano’s lawyer filed a motion in June to have the domestic terrorism charge dismissed on the grounds that the slow process had violated Marsicano’s right to due process and their right to a speedy trial.

On August 6, Judge Gregory Adams heard arguments from the defense and the prosecution. At the hearing, the defense successfully argued that Marsicano’s domestic terrorism charge had unduly impacted their life.

Unicorn Riot Coverage of the Movement to Stop ‘Cop City’

While the state delayed an indictment, Marsicano was labeled as a potential domestic terrorist, an accusation that has prevented the North Carolina Bar Association from issuing the recent law school graduate a license to practice law.

And without a trial, Marsicano hadn’t been able to defend against the accusations made against them.

Though Marsicano was arrested 29 months ago, the domestic terrorism charges they’ve been saddled with have yet to be indicted, meaning a trial could not move forward.

What’s more, as de Janon asserted, the racketeering charges Jamie is facing in Fulton County, which represent the same conduct in question in the domestic terrorism charge they faced in neighboring DeKalb County, have already started trial. As the defense saw it, the state should have been able to move forward long ago with the significantly simpler facts in the domestic terrorism charges Marsicano was facing in DeKalb County.

Further, de Janon asserted that the delays were intentional and tactical on the part of the state, which they say seeks to use looming domestic terrorism charges as leverage to get defendants in the sprawling RICO case to cooperate with the state.

For the state’s part, prosecuting attorney John Fowler pushed back against the claims that the RICO and domestic terrorism cases were similar and claimed that an investigation into Marsicano’s domestic terrorism charge was still ongoing.

Thursday’s dismissal was the latest in a series of legal stumbling blocks the state has faced in the years since bringing charges against activists and organizers who aimed to stop Cop City.

In June 2023, DeKalb County District Attorney Sherry Boston refused to prosecute the cases, including domestic terrorism charges, which had been brought against Cop City arrestees. Instead, Georgia Attorney General Chris Carr would become responsible for the prosecution, placing the burden on the state.

In September 2024, Georgia dropped money laundering charges it had brought against three RICO defendants who were accused of organizing jail support and other solidarity efforts to aid the movement.

And last month, RICO defendant Ayla King’s long-awaited trial, which has been delayed since December 2023, was again stalled after the court declared a mistrial following an appellate court ordering a new jury be selected.

Though the domestic terrorism charge has been dismissed, Marsicano is still facing RICO charges in the ongoing trial that seeks to convict Cop City’s opponents as a criminal conspiracy.

Forty other people are still facing state-level domestic terrorism charges in DeKalb County at the time of this article’s publication.

Though Judge Adam’s ruling dismissing Marsicano’s domestic terrorism charge may be helpful for other Cop City defendants facing the same or similar charges, de Janon emphasized that the dismissal in his client’s case is specific to their circumstances.

“It’s a huge win to defeat domestic terrorism [charges] but there are so many others whose story doesn’t get told because the charges aren’t as extreme,” de Janon said.

Atlanta’s Public Safety Training Center was completed and began operation in April of this year.

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