Maggie Gates — an environmental activist from Bloomington who has been charged with domestic terrorism after protesting “Cop City” in Atlanta — was granted conditional bond on Friday, Gates’ partner Kay Weinberg said. She is expected to be released sometime this week. A preliminary hearing is expected sometime in May 2023.
Gates’ attorney confirmed that a bond agreement was reached with the prosecutor. Dekalb County Chief Assistant District Attorney Peter Johnson were not immediately available for comment.
Gates’ bond was originally denied on March 23, according to documents from the Dekalb County Superior Court.
Gates spent nearly a month in jail since her arrest on March 5 for protesting the planned $90 million police training facility located in the Weelaunee Forest in Atlanta. Environmental activists and people concerned about the militarization of the police have dubbed the area “Cop City.”
“I’m grateful to be able to start supporting her recovery from conditions she experienced in the jail, and my heart is with the families of her co-defendants who are still inside,” Weinberg said.
Under her conditional bond, Gates is prohibited from entering Georgia except for legal reasons and is not allowed to contact her codefendants, Weinberg said.
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There are 68 people that share Gates’ case number, with charges spanning from December 2022 to March 2023.
Gates’ friends and activist groups said the protesters were arrested during a police raid at a music festival held in protest of “Cop City”, but Atlanta police said protesters used the festival as a cover and were arrested for conducting violent activities.
The exact details of Gates’ arrest continue to be unknown as the Georgia Bureau of Investigation, the agency that arrested Gates, said public records requests take three to four weeks to process.
CORRECTION: The story was updated to correctly reflect the nature of Gates’ arrest.
