Biography
Serena Hertel is an activist from California who was among the first five people arrested at the Stop Cop City forest encampment in Weelaunee Forest on December 14, 2022 — one of the earliest domestic terrorism arrests in the Cop City protest movement. She and four co-defendants were charged with domestic terrorism, aggravated assault, criminal trespass, felony obstruction, interference with government property, and possession of tools for the commission of a crime. All five were initially held without bond. DeKalb County Senior Judge Mathew Robins eventually granted bond of between $6,000 and $13,500 with restrictive conditions including an extradition waiver, no-contact with co-defendants, no social media contact with activist groups, and a ban on returning to the training center site. She was later included in the 61-person RICO indictment brought by Georgia AG Chris Carr in August 2023; the RICO charges were dismissed December 30, 2025.
