Person

Tom Jurgens

Nationality:

American

Organization:

Southern Poverty Law Center

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Tom Jurgens is an attorney at the Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC). In March 2023, Jurgens was arrested and charged with domestic terrorism for allegedly participating in a violent protest against “Cop City” in Atlanta, Georgia. According to the SPLC, Jurgens attended the event as a legal observer of behalf of the National Lawyers Guild.

Career

Tom Jurgens has worked for the Southern Poverty Law Center’s Economic Justice Project since September 2021. Previously, Jurgens worked as a legal intern for the DeKalb County public defender’s office in Georgia and as an assistant public defender in Florida. 1

Jurgens is licensed to practice law in “at least” Florida and Georgia. 2

Jurgens has taken down his LinkedIn page since his arrest on March 5, 2023. 3

Cop City Protests

In 2021, numerous left-wing groups began protesting the construction of the Atlanta Public Safety Training Center, a police training facility nicknamed “Cop City.” Opposition groups included Stop Cop City, which claimed that the facility would further militarize the police and encourage violence against racial minorities. Other protest groups, including Defend the Atlanta Forest, protested the facility’s construction on 300 acres of forest. 4

The protest tactics and city response escalated throughout 2021 and 2022. Protesters staged demonstrations and occupied sections of the forest. The police alleged that protestors engaged in acts of sabotage and vandalism against construction contractors. In December 2022, a joint local, state, and federal task force raided an encampment of protestors obstructing construction, and after being pelted by rocks and bottles from treehouses, officers arrested five protesters who would be charged with domestic terrorism. 5 6 7 The Movement for Black Lives coordinated legal support for arrested protesters. 8

In January 2023, Georgia State Troopers shot and killed protester Manuel Esteban Paez Teran during another raid, further enflaming opposition. As of March 2023, the Georgia Bureau of Investigations is investigating the shooting. 9

On March 5, attendees of the South River Music Festival approached a major construction site and allegedly began lobbing rocks, bricks, commercial-grade fireworks, and Molotov cocktails at construction vehicles, destroying many. Out of about 150 protesters, 35 were arrested and 23 were charged with domestic terrorism, including Tom Jurgens, 10 11 12 13 who allegedly attended the event as an observer for the far-left National Lawyers Guild (NLG). 14

In response to the arrest, the SPLC and NLG put out a joint statement: “The employee is an experienced legal observer, and their arrest is not evidence of any crime, but of heavy-handed law enforcement intervention against protesters.” 15 SPLC CEO Margaret Huang said she was “outraged that police officers present at the protest refused to acknowledge Tom’s role as a legal observer and instead chose to arrest him.” 16

On March 7, Jurgens was the only one of the 23 accused to receive bail, set at $5,000. The Washington Times reported that according to Atlanta TV station WSB, the local ABC affiliate, DeKalb County Court Magistrate Judge Anna Davis justified the decision staing, “Given the fact that he is a [barred] attorney, his claim at this point, he’s a legal observer. I can’t stand here and say there’s evidence he threw something.” 17

On March 9, the Florida Bar announced that it was investigating Jurgens for violating the Rules of Discipline due to his domestic terrorism charge. 18

According to the left-wing Media Matters, right-wing groups used Jurgens’s arrest to smear the SPLC as complicit in violence and domestic terrorism. For instance, Family Research Council president Tony Perkins claimed Jurgens’s arrest shows the SPLC is “in bed with Antifa,” and U.S. Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA) accused Jurgens and the violent protestors of being “the ground troops of the Democrat party.” 19

References

  1. Maitra, Aurko. “Who is Thomas Jurgens? SPLC Lawyer involved in Atlanta Cop City Attack.” SK Pop. March 7, 2023. Accessed March 15, 2023. https://www.sportskeeda.com/pop-culture/news-who-thomas-jurgens-splc-lawyer-involved-atlanta-cop-city-attack.
  2. Colton, Emma. “Florida Bar launches investigation into SPLC lawyer accused of domestic terrorism at Atlanta’s ‘Cop City’.” Yahoo! Life. March 9, 2023. Accessed March 15, 2023. https://www.yahoo.com/lifestyle/florida-bar-launches-investigation-splc-211948675.html.
  3. Maitra, Aurko. “Who is Thomas Jurgens? SPLC Lawyer involved in Atlanta Cop City Attack.” SK Pop. March 7, 2023. Accessed March 15, 2023. https://www.sportskeeda.com/pop-culture/news-who-thomas-jurgens-splc-lawyer-involved-atlanta-cop-city-attack.
  4. Alfonseca, Kiara. “What is Atlanta’s ‘Cop City’ and why are people protesting it?” ABC News. March 6, 2023. Accessed March 15, 2023. https://abcnews.go.com/US/atlantas-cop-city-people-protesting/story?id=96716095.
  5. Wheatley, Thomas. “”Cop City” activists charged with domestic terrorism.” Axios. December 15, 2022. Accessed March 15, 2023. https://www.axios.com/local/atlanta/2022/12/15/atlanta-cop-city-occupation-activists-charged-with-domestic-terrorism.
  6. Tabachnick, Cara. “What we know about Atlanta’s “Cop City” and the standoff between police and protesters.” CBS News. March 6, 2023. Accessed March 15, 2023. https://www.cbsnews.com/news/atlanta-protests-cop-city-georgia-state-of-emergency-forest-defenders/.
  7. Alfonseca, Kiara. “What is Atlanta’s ‘Cop City’ and why are people protesting it?” ABC News. March 6, 2023. Accessed March 15, 2023. https://abcnews.go.com/US/atlantas-cop-city-people-protesting/story?id=96716095.
  8. Chasmar, Jessica. “Atlanta bail fund rushes to support arrested ‘Cop City’ activists after 23 charged with domestic terrorism.” Fox News. March 6, 2023. Accessed March 15, 2023. https://www.foxnews.com/politics/atlanta-bail-fund-rushes-support-arrested-cop-city-activists-23-charged-domestic-terrorism.
  9. Tabachnick, Cara. “What we know about Atlanta’s “Cop City” and the standoff between police and protesters.” CBS News. March 6, 2023. Accessed March 15, 2023. https://www.cbsnews.com/news/atlanta-protests-cop-city-georgia-state-of-emergency-forest-defenders/.
  10.  Arnold, Joshua. “Attorney’s Arrest Highlights SPLC’s Ties to Radical Left.” The Washington Stand. March 10, 2023. Accessed March 15, 2023. https://washingtonstand.com/commentary/attorneys-arrest-highlights-splcs-ties-to-radical-left.
  11. Chasmar, Jessica. “Atlanta bail fund rushes to support arrested ‘Cop City’ activists after 23 charged with domestic terrorism.” Fox News. March 6, 2023. Accessed March 15, 2023. https://www.foxnews.com/politics/atlanta-bail-fund-rushes-support-arrested-cop-city-activists-23-charged-domestic-terrorism.
  12. Splenda, Tom; Matza, Max. “Atlanta ‘Cop City’: Terror charges filed against 23 protesters.” BBC. March 7, 2023. Accessed March 15, 2023. https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-64842272.
  13. “SPLC Attorney Among 23 Antifa Charged Over Violent Atlanta Cop City Protests.” NY Breaking. March 6, 2023. Accessed March 15, 2023. https://nybreaking.com/splc-attorney-among-23-antifa-charged-over-violent-atlanta-cop-city-protests/.
  14. Richardson, Valarie. “Judge denies bail to all suspects in ‘Cop City’ attack – except Southern Poverty Law Center lawyer.” Washington Times. March 7, 2023. Accessed March 15, 2023. https://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2023/mar/7/thomas-webb-jurgens-southern-poverty-law-center-la/.
  15. “NLG and SPLC Statements on Arrest of Legal Observer.” Southern Poverty Law Center, March 6, 2023. https://www.splcenter.org/presscenter/nlg-and-splc-statements-arrest-legal-observer.
  16. Colton, Emma. “Florida Bar launches investigation into SPLC lawyer accused of domestic terrorism at Atlanta’s ‘Cop City’.” Yahoo! Life. March 9, 2023. Accessed March 15, 2023. https://www.yahoo.com/lifestyle/florida-bar-launches-investigation-splc-211948675.html.
  17. Richardson, Valarie. “Judge denies bail to all suspects in ‘Cop City’ attack – except Southern Poverty Law Center lawyer.” Washington Times. March 7, 2023. Accessed March 15, 2023. https://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2023/mar/7/thomas-webb-jurgens-southern-poverty-law-center-la/.
  18. Colton, Emma. “Florida Bar launches investigation into SPLC lawyer accused of domestic terrorism at Atlanta’s ‘Cop City’.” Yahoo! Life. March 9, 2023. Accessed March 15, 2023. https://www.yahoo.com/lifestyle/florida-bar-launches-investigation-splc-211948675.html.
  19. Berger, Ilana. “After latest Cop City protest right-wing media go after Southern Poverty Law Center, a group that calls out hate groups.” Media Matters. March 10, 2023. Accessed March 15, 2023. https://www.mediamatters.org/newsmax/after-latest-cop-city-protest-right-wing-media-go-after-southern-poverty-law-center-group.
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