Police in Atlanta arrest 3 behind bail fund supporting protests against police training complex

Charges include money laundering and charity fraud

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ATLANTA (AP) — Police on Wednesday arrested three key Atlanta organizers who have been aiding protesters against the city's proposed police and fire training center.

The Georgia Bureau of Investigation announced its agents and Atlanta police had arrested three officers of the group that runs the Atlanta Solidarity Fund, which has bailed out protesters and helped them find lawyers.

Charged with money laundering and charity fraud are Marlon Scott Kautz, 39, of Atlanta; Savannah D. Patterson, 30, of Savannah; and Adele MacLean, 42, of Atlanta.

State investigators said they found evidence linking all three to the alleged financial crimes after executing warrants Wednesday morning at a house owned by Kautz and MacLean that is emblazoned with anti-police graffiti in an otherwise gentrified neighborhood east of downtown Atlanta.

Prosecutors said the three would likely make their initial appearances before a judge on Thursday.

MacLean, Kautz and Patterson are respectively the CEO, chief financial officer and secretary of the Network for Strong Communities, which was incorporated in 2020 and runs the Atlanta Solidarity Fund.

More than 40 people have been charged with domestic terrorism in connection with protests over the Atlanta Public Safety Training Center, a cause that has garnered international attention since authorities clearing the protesters' camp in South River Forest fatally shot a protester in January. Officials say the officers fired in self-defense after the protester shot a trooper. The Georgia Bureau of Investigation is investigating.

In a statement issued after the arrests, Gov. Brian Kemp said the state would “track down every member of a criminal organization, from violent foot soldiers to their uncaring leaders.”

“These criminals facilitated and encouraged domestic terrorism with no regard for others, watching as communities faced the destructive consequences of their actions," Kemp said. “Here in Georgia, we do not allow that to happen.”

Georgia Attorney General Chris Carr pledged to “not rest until we have held accountable every person who has funded, organized, or participated in this violence and intimidation.”

The Atlanta City Council approved building the 85-acre training center in 2021, saying a state-of-the-art campus would replace substandard offerings and boost police morale, which is beset by hiring and retention struggles in the wake of violent nationwide protests against police brutality and racial injustice in the summer of 2020.

The city is tasking the private Atlanta Police Foundation with building the complex, promising to pay $67 million over time. The remainder of the $90 million complex would come from private funds. Foundation work is ongoing, with the complex projected to be completed in 2024.