Felony Justice
Southern Poverty Legislation Middle lawyer charged with home terrorism was authorized observer at demonstration
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A lawyer with the Southern Poverty Legislation Middle who was accused of being one in all 23 “agitators” throughout an Atlanta demonstration was truly a authorized observer, in response to the group and his protection lawyer.
The lawyer, 28-year-old Thomas Jurgens, was arrested March 5 and charged with home terrorism, in response to Fox News.
Police say the peaceable protest turned violent when agitators wearing black clothes threw giant rocks, bricks, Molotov cocktails and fireworks at law enforcement officials. The demonstration happened on the website of a proposed police coaching heart in Atlanta.
The protesters oppose the destruction of the Weelaunee Forest to construct the coaching facility.
The Nationwide Attorneys Guild and the Southern Poverty Legislation Middle launched statements saying the SPLC worker arrested was on the protest as a authorized observer for the guild. The statements don’t particularly establish Jurgens as the worker.
The SPLC assertion mentioned its worker “is an skilled authorized observer, and their arrest just isn’t proof of any crime, however of heavy-handed legislation enforcement intervention towards protesters.”
In line with protection by WSB-TV, prosecutors have decided that Jurgens was on the demonstration as a authorized observer and didn’t take part within the violence. However a Fox News story mentioned prosecutors agreed to the bond however nonetheless maintained that “merely since you’re an lawyer doesn’t imply you may’t commit against the law.”
Jurgens was the one defendant among the many 23 who have been charged to be granted bond, which was set at $5,000.
Jurgens’ lawyer mentioned his consumer was carrying a shiny inexperienced hat to point out that he was a authorized observer, Law.com experiences. The story linked to an Instagram video displaying the arrest of an individual in a inexperienced hat.
Jurgens is listed as an SPLC worker by state bars in Georgia and Florida. He’s a 2019 graduate of the College of Georgia Faculty of Legislation.
Jurgens didn’t instantly reply to an ABA Journal request for remark despatched to his work e mail handle. The cellphone quantity listed for him doesn’t work.
