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Georgia Domestic Terrorism Expansion (2017 / 2023 Application)

  • Law: Georgia Code § 16-11-220 (domestic terrorism statute), amended 2017; applied aggressively to Cop City protesters 2023
  • 2017 amendment passed: Georgia Senate 48–5; House 149–16
  • Signed by: Governor Nathan Deal (2017)
  • 2023 indictments: Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis; supported by Governor Brian Kemp

What It Does​

The 2017 statute amended Georgia's domestic terrorism definition to include acts intended to coerce government conduct through property damage or destruction — not just acts intended to kill or injure people. The key elements:

  • Defines domestic terrorism as an act dangerous to human life or that involves a "felony involving property" if committed with the intent to coerce, intimidate, or retaliate against civilian population or government policy.
  • Maximum penalty: imprisonment for not less than 5 nor more than 35 years.

The 2023 Cop City application: When protesters opposed to the Atlanta Public Safety Training Center ("Cop City") engaged in demonstrations, some of which involved property damage in the Weelaunee Forest, Fulton County prosecutors used the 2017 statute to charge 61 protesters and organizers with domestic terrorism — a felony carrying up to 35 years in prison. The charges included people accused of organizing protests, legal observers, and individuals charged based on possession of items found in the forest.

Why Critics Oppose It​

  • Applying "terrorism" to property protest — The domestic terrorism charge was designed for attacks intended to cause mass casualties. Applying it to forest protests — even those involving property damage — radically expands the definition of terrorism to cover ordinary civil disobedience and direct action.
  • Organizers charged, not just actors — Several of the 61 defendants were charged not for property damage but for allegedly organizing or funding protest activity. This effectively criminalizes protest organizing as terrorism.
  • Legal observers and journalists swept up — A legal observer (a trained attorney documenting police conduct) was arrested and initially charged. A journalist was also arrested. This chills the presence of accountability observers at protests.
  • RICO-style mass indictment — Prosecutors used the state RICO statute alongside domestic terrorism charges, allowing them to name dozens of defendants under a single indictment based on alleged association rather than individual conduct.
  • Selective application — Georgia has not charged right-wing militia members or other political actors who have engaged in property-related coercive conduct with domestic terrorism, suggesting viewpoint-based selective prosecution.
  • Chilling effect on environmental and police accountability activism — The 61-defendant indictment immediately caused a measurable drop in Stop Cop City organizing as activists feared terrorism charges for attendance at protests.

Constitutional Concerns​

  • 1st Amendment (assembly, association, petition) — charging protesters with domestic terrorism for participating in or organizing political demonstrations.
  • 1st Amendment (press freedom) — arresting legal observers and journalists present to document police conduct.
  • Due process (5th/14th Amendments) — vague "intent to coerce government policy" standard that can be applied to any politically motivated protest where any property damage occurs anywhere nearby.
  • Equal protection — selective prosecution of left-environmental activists while similar right-wing conduct goes uncharged.
  • 8th Amendment — 35-year sentences for acts not involving injury to persons.
  • Multiple defendants challenged the domestic terrorism charges; some were dropped or reduced.
  • Legal observers' charges drew specific condemnation from the National Lawyers Guild and ACLU.
  • As of 2025, the prosecution of Cop City defendants under domestic terrorism charges is ongoing. Constitutional challenges have not been finally resolved.
  • The Stop Cop City referendum effort — an attempt to place the training center's fate on the ballot — was blocked by Atlanta city officials; federal lawsuit followed.

Why This Matters for We The Citizens​

The Georgia Cop City prosecution shows how broadly-worded domestic terrorism statutes enacted with little controversy (the 2017 vote was 48–5 in the Senate) can be weaponized years later against political movements. A state legislator who votes for domestic terrorism expansion without precise definitions of what constitutes terrorism is handing prosecutors a tool to charge political opponents. The 2017 vote is a useful baseline; the 2023 application is the consequence.

See also: State Bad Laws Overview

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