The Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC) defended one of its attorneys after he was charged with domestic terrorism in Atlanta for violently protesting a new police facility.
SPLC Attorney Thomas Webb Jurgens was one of 23 people charged with domestic terrorism on Monday for allegedly rioting against the construction of a $90 million police training facility.
“An employee at the SPLC was arrested while acting — and identifying — as a legal observer on behalf of the National Lawyers Guild (NLG). The employee is an experienced legal observer, and their arrest is not evidence of any crime, but of heavy-handed law enforcement intervention against protesters,” SPLC said in a statement released Monday night.
“This is part of a months-long escalation of policing tactics against protesters and observers who oppose the destruction of the Weelaunee Forest to build a police training facility. The SPLC has and will continue to urge de-escalation of violence and police use of force against Black, Brown and Indigenous communities — working in partnership with these communities to dismantle white supremacy, strengthen intersectional movements and advance the human rights of all people.”
Southern Poverty Law Center Attorney Charged With Domestic Terrorism For Rioting Against Atlanta Police Facility @DailyCaller https://t.co/XLQ6KvUdDd
— James Lynch (@jameslynch32) March 6, 2023
via joemiller
