Supporters of Jack Mazurek Hold Rally, Punk Show, Outside Fulton County Courthouse

Atlanta, GA – About 30 supporters of John “Jack” Mazurek held a rally on the morning of Monday, March 4 that included speakers, a banner, and even a punk show performed on a downtown Atlanta sidewalk across the street from the Fulton County Courthouse.

“Even though we heard that the indictment came down and postponed the hearing, we are still hopeful. We just took the spirit that was in the music that was played and the spirit amongst the people, and we took it as strength to continue this journey."

– Rev. Keyanna Jones pic.twitter.com/uQe9sEN9n1
— UNICORN RIOT (@UR_Ninja) March 6, 2024

The rally was held on the day of a scheduled bond hearing for Mazurek, who has been held in the Fulton County Jail for almost a month on first-degree arson charges associated with a fiery attack on eight police motorcycles at a south Atlanta police precinct in July 2023. Police have claimed that there is a connection between the arson and the ‘Stop Cop City’ movement.

Atlanta Police motorcycles were burned in the arson alleged to have taken place on July 1, 2023. Photo via Atlanta Police/11 Alive

Supporters gathered to demand Mazurek’s immediate release, but court officials postponed his hearing this morning after an indictment was obtained in his case. For now, Mazurek will remain in jail pending a bond hearing in Superior Court.

“We remain unfazed and unsurprised by the state’s actions to postpone Jack’s bond hearing,” said a member of Jack’s support crew who asked to be identified only as Leandra. “This is a blatant attempt to demoralize and humiliate supporters and loved ones who showed up today as well as a reassurance to Cop City stakeholders that they have people in jail. We will not be dissuaded from supporting our friend or broken by their ongoing harassment because we are motivated by the strongest force of all, love.”

The indictment returned in Mazurek’s case accuses him of “the offense of arson in the first degree O.C.G.A. §16-7-60(a)(5),” and states that “on the 1st day of July, 2023, [Mazurek] did unlawfully, by means of fire, knowingly aid another in damaging vehicles, to wit: motorcycles belonging to the Atlanta Police Department, under circumstances in which it was reasonably foreseeable that human life might be endangered…”

The indictment was signed by grand jury foreperson Beth Hart and 19 other grand jurors on February 29, 2024. The indictment is also signed by Fulton County District Attorney Fani T. Willis.

Mazurek-Indictment_Redacted

Mazurek’s supporters say that during his time in the Fulton County Jail, jail officials have refused to provide Mazurek with adequate nutrition and have repeatedly failed to provide him commissary items.

“While incarcerated, Jack has been denied things that are vital for his health,” said Rev. Keyanna Jones, a clergy member who has been an outspoken participant in the Stop Cop City movement. “He has been denied vegan food, he has been denied medication that was needed, and apparently he has been denied access to a clergy visit.”

Jones told Unicorn Riot that Mazurek’s supporters remain hopeful that he will be released from jail soon. “Even though we heard that the indictment came down and postponed the hearing, we are still hopeful,” said Jones. “We just took the spirit that was in the music that was played and the spirit amongst the people, and we took it as strength to continue this journey. We were fortunate to have Jack’s parents there, Jack’s partner there and Jack’s support team. I do believe that today really energized people to keep fighting for Jack.”

Mazurek was arrested February 8 in the midst of a series of early morning raids carried out by the Atlanta Police Department, Georgia Bureau of Investigation, Georgia State Patrol, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF), and FBI. Law enforcement broke down doors, cut locks, destroyed property, and pointed rifles at activists while carrying out search warrants. Another individual was taken into custody and held for most of the day for questioning before being released without charges.

“What we see right now is that the police and the state are willing to do anything to derail this movement,” said Jones. “They are even willing to operate outside the boundaries of law. They have made a number of missteps in many of the cases that we have seen against our comrades and they just keep showing that they are not concerned about the rule of law, they are really not concerned about abiding by the law. They believe that they’re above the law as long as it benefits them and as long as they can continue to repress this movement.”

Despite the repression, Jones says that the movement to Stop Cop City has not slowed.

“For the movement, the movement is going to keep moving. There is nothing that has stopped this movement up to this point,” said Jones. “There is nothing that is going to stop this movement, because the spirit and the heart of the people is to win…We are committed to working together within our movement so that we can win.”

“This movement will continue to grow, we will continue to fight, we will continue to use a variety of tactics. Because truly, we want to stop ‘Cop City’.”

[Click here to download the indictment in .PDF]

Check out Unicorn Riot’s documentaries and our library of past coverage to learn more about the ongoing national ‘Stop Cop City’ movement: