A Georgia grand jury has indicted 61 activists accused of using violence in their protest against a planned police and firefighter training facility in Atlanta dubbed “Cop City.”

The Associated Press reports that GOP Attorney General Chris Carr, who announced the sweeping indictment Tuesday (Sep. 5), will apply Georgia’s anti-racketeering law, also known as a RICO law, against the defendants, alleging that they are “militant anarchists.”

Speaking at a news conference, Carr said, “The 61 defendants together have conspired to prevent the construction of the Atlanta Public Safety Training Center by conducting, coordinating and organizing acts of violence, intimidation and property destruction.”

In June, the Atlanta City Council approved $90 million in funding to construct the controversial 85-acre facility. But the roots of the Stop Cop City movement go back to the racial justice protests that erupted across the nation after George Floyd was murdered by a Minneapolis police officer in May 2020.

Opponents of the training center say they fear that it will lead to greater militarization of the police targeted at Black neighborhoods.

Law enforcement has linked instances of violence and vandalism allegedly to members of the movement. In one case, authorities say that 150 masked protesters torched construction equipment at the facility’s construction site.

The confrontation between protesters and the police reached a boiling point after the fatal police shooting in January of Manuel Esteban Paez Terán. State investigators concluded that troopers were justified in firing at the 26-year-old protester after Paez Terán shot at them. None of the state troopers wore body cameras, which has led activists to doubt the official version of what happened.

Defiant activists questioned Carr’s motive for filing RICO charges against the accused protesters and vowed to continue their campaign.

“We will not be intimidated by power-hungry strongmen, whether in City Hall or the Attorney General’s office. Chris Carr may try to use his prosecutors and power to build his gubernatorial campaign and silence free speech, but his threats will not silence our commitment to standing up for our future, our community, and our city,” the Cop City Vote coalition said in a statement.

The Washington Post reports that the RICO law, which the Fulton County, Ga., prosecutor recently used to charge former President Donald Trump and his 18 alleged co-conspirator, is usually used to indict mob bosses.

Most of the Stop Cop City defendants were already charged with crimes, including about three dozen facing domestic terrorism charges. RICO charges can be added to the underlying alleged criminal acts and increase potential sentences for those who are convicted.