Kennebunkport man charged with domestic terrorism in Georgia

DECATUR, Georgia — A Kennebunkport, Maine, man is facing a charge of domestic terrorism, following his arrest at a recent protest in Atlanta.

Francis Carroll, 22, of Kennebunkport, was one of five people arrested Tuesday, Dec. 13, for their alleged participation in violent acts and trespassing at the planned site of a new Atlanta Public Safety Training Center in Georgia, according to a press release from DeKalb County District Attorney Sherry Boston.

Carroll also is facing charges of aggravated assault, interference with government property and criminal trespassing. He is currently being held without bail.

Carroll made his first court appearance in the case in Georgia on Dec. 15. During the proceeding, he and the other four defendants — Nicholas Olson, 25, of Nebraska; Serena Hertel, 25, of California; Leonard Vioselle, 20, of Georgia; and Arieon Robinson, 22, of Wisconsin — were advised of the charges against them.

The charges are the result of a joint operation conducted by the Georgia Bureau of Investigation, the DeKalb County Police Department, the Atlanta Police Department, and several additional law enforcement agencies

According to the press release, barricades were illegally constructed and placed at the site of the planned training center in Atlanta. During an attempt to remove these barricades, which were blocking entrances, the suspects allegedly attacked firefighters, police officers and a patrol car with rocks and “incendiary weapons.”

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Once the area was cleared, police found explosive devices, gasoline and road flairs, according to the Georgia Bureau of Investigation.

“I strongly believe in the right to peacefully protest for what one believes is right and just,” Boston said in the press release. “However, I draw the line at violence, destruction of property, and threatening and causing harm to others ... The alleged acts of violence at the training facility site put the public in grave danger, and will not be tolerated.”

The investigation of the incident is ongoing. Once the investigation is complete, the cases will be turned over to the DeKalb County District Attorney’s Office and the Attorney General’s Office, who will jointly prosecute the case.

Messages left for the Office of the DeKalb County District Attorney were not returned this week. Attempts to identify and speak with Carroll’s attorney were unsuccessful.

Other alleged crimes at the site have included property destruction, arson, and attacks against contractors and public safety officials approaching the premises, according to the press release.

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Opponents of the training center have been protesting for months by building platforms in surrounding trees and camping out at the site. They say that the $90 million project, which would be built by the Atlanta Police Foundation, involves cutting down so many trees that it would be environmentally damaging. They also oppose investing so much money in what they call “Cop City," which they say will be used to practice “urban warfare.”

In an email to news outlets, opponents of the training facility said that police used “extreme and unjustified measures” against them, including “tear gas canisters and pepper bullets."

The 85-acre property is owned by the city of Atlanta but is located just outside the city limits in unincorporated DeKalb County, and includes a former state prison farm.

The Atlanta City Council voted in September 2021 to lease the land to the Atlanta Police Foundation. The training center would include a shooting range, classrooms, a mock village, an emergency vehicle driving course, stables for police horses, and a “burn building” for firefighters to practice putting out fires. The vote came after weeks of protest from people who oppose the complex.

Material from the Associated Press was used in this report.

This article originally appeared on Portsmouth Herald: Kennebunkport ME man charged with domestic terrorism in Atlanta