Do you want to stop another white supremacist from becoming a lawyer? It’s easy to participate in this campaign, and if you can’t call in yourself, please share this widely.
BACKGROUND: Casey Cooper, a white nationalist who made death threats against a Black community activist in Atlanta, is in his second year studying law at Atlanta’s John Marshall Law School (AJMLS). Cooper is affiliated with Identity Evropa, a militant racist organization. Cooper has also organized white nationalists to paste propaganda such as “Why White Women Shouldn’t Date Black Men” on campuses throughout Metro Atlanta. Cooper published extreme racist and homophobic comments about his law school environment (AJMLS currently has more than 50% “minority” enrollment and regularly ranks among the most diverse law schools in the country).
TIMELINE: The month before his first law school classes in 2016, Casey Cooper made an explicit death threat, messaging a picture of a noose to an outspoken Black activist in Atlanta. Cooper then doubled-down on his threat, further abusing his target in a public message on Twitter and writing “This is why you hang.” No appropriate action has been taken by Atlanta’s John Marshall, even though responsibility for the threat is clear. It should also be noted that AJMLS considers student conduct from the time of admission — not the start of classes — in its Code of Student Responsibility. We believe that Cooper’s explicit death threats reflect a general unfitness to study and practice law.
In March 2017, Atlanta Antifascists first drew attention to Cooper’s white power agitation. AJMLS did not comment publicly and did not appear to take any action. Months later, in the aftermath of the bloody “Unite the Right” rally in Charlottesville, Virginia in August 2017 — where a white supremacist murdered anti-racist Heather Heyer — AJMLS finally issued a statement to students, although it did not mention Casey Cooper by name. online alias appears in planning chats for “Unite the Right” and he was video-recorded at the “Charlottesville 1.0” white power rally in May that set the stage for “Unite the Right”.
It’s clear that Casey Cooper is not just a garden-variety bigot but an ideologically-committed militant. Cooper has logged into his account on the white power TheRightStuff in 2018, signaling his continued involvement in racist organizing. If Cooper becomes a lawyer, there is strong reason to believe he will abuse his position of power to attack people of color and other groups he despises. If Atlanta’s John Marshall ignores every warning sign and helps Cooper into a profession for which he is clearly unfit, some of the blame for what happens will be theirs.
Atlanta’s John Marshall Law School does its student body and the community at large a disservice by ignoring the death threats made by Casey Cooper. Threatening to lynch another human being is not a trivial matter. AJMLS has known about Cooper’s actions nearly a year. The evidence is overwhelming. By treating this as unimportant, AJMLS normalizes racist intimidation and creates an unwelcome environment for the very students it promises to serve.
CONTACT INFORMATION AND SAMPLE SCRIPTS:
Please contact Atlanta’s John Marshall Law School to express your concern:
Phone: (678) 916-2600
Fax: (404) 873-3802
Dean Malcolm L. Morris
Phone: (678) 916-2603
SHORT SCRIPT: “Why aren’t you doing anything about Casey Cooper’s white supremacist organizing at your school?”
LONGER SCRIPT: “Hello, I am contacting you about second-year student Casey Jordan Cooper. AJMLS has known for almost a year that Cooper is responsible for making racist death threats. All the evidence is at caseycooperinfo.wordpress.com. You are also aware that Cooper coordinated white power propaganda campaigns on Metro Atlanta campuses. I am deeply concerned by your school’s inaction. Why does AJMLS still view Cooper as fit to study and practice law?
“I am reminding you that the issue is not just Cooper’s bigoted speech, but Cooper clearly threatening to lynch somebody. Doesn’t helping Cooper on his way to a become a lawyer — where he will have greatly increased power over people’s lives — make further harm likely? How is AJMLS working to repair the damage it has already done, to the broader community and to its own student body? The time has come for AJMLS to do better. Thanks for listening today.”
EXTRA CREDIT: CONTACT BAR ADMISSIONS
We also invite you to contact the Office of Bar Admissions for Georgia, supplying them with information on Casey Jordan Cooper’s conduct. Explain that Cooper is currently in law school but that his white power harassment and death threats reveal that he cannot be trustworthy and reliable as lawyer in the future. This information should be kept on file and Cooper should be denied admission to the bar.
Office of Bar Admissions
244 Washington Street, SW
Suite 440
Atlanta, GA 30334
404-656-3490
MORE INFO ON COOPER?
If you have further information about Casey Cooper — his racist organizing and/or his behavior at Atlanta’s John Marshall Law School — please reach out to Atlanta Antifascists:
afainatl [at] riseup [dot] net
470-344-4868 (voicemail only)
ACTIVE IN THE COMMUNITY? SPEAK OUT – SPREAD THE WORD!
We ask Atlanta progressive and community groups to raise this issue with Atlanta’s John Marshall. Share this information with your membership and speak out as an organization. Ask why AJMLS is trying to help a death-threat-making racist to become a lawyer, where he will have further power to target and harass people of color, LGBTQ+ individuals, and others.
RESOURCES
Further resources on Casey Jordan Cooper:
* Casey Cooper Information
Contains 500+ page dossier on Casey Cooper’s white power activity
* “Meet Casey Jordan Cooper: ‘Alt-Right’ White Power Organizer and Atlanta Law Student”
March 2017 article by Atlanta Antifascists
* All Casey Cooper information on Atlanta Antifascists website:
