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Fulton County’s District Attorney, Fani Willis, has confirmed that she will decide this summer whether to charge former President Donald Trump and his supporters with crimes connected to alleged interference in Georgia’s 2020 election. In a letter to local law enforcement, she warned of a potential “heightened security and preparedness” due to her announcement, which could “provoke a significant public reaction.”
Between July 11 and Sept. 1, Willis will announce possible criminal indictments, indicating that she may be close to trying to obtain an indictment against Trump and his allies.
In order to be prepared for any potential unrest, Willis contacted both the Chief of Police and the director of Atlanta-Fulton County Emergency Management Agency with a request for them to collaborate with government entities at the state and federal levels to guarantee the protection of the public.
Former President Trump has previously called for demonstrations in response to this investigation, raising concerns about potential riots like the Jan. 6, 2021, insurrection he encouraged.
According to Norm Eisen, a former ethics czar under President Barack Obama, says it sounds likely that Willis will undoubtedly seek charges against the former president, given the evidence and applicable law in Georgia.
“It’s hard to imagine how Willis would announce that she will be filing charges without including Donald Trump,” Eisen told the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. “While she does not have the former president’s name in her letter, the evidence and the applicable law in Georgia point to the substantial likelihood that Donald Trump and his principal co-conspirators will be included when she follows through on the plans she confirms in this letter.”
Willis’s decision will likely have profound, long-lasting impacts on President Trump and his supporters, as well as the entire US political landscape.
In May 2022, as a Fulton judge handpicked members for a special grand jury, the Fulton Sheriff’s office transformed the courthouse’s surroundings. With semi-automatic rifles at street corners and snipers on rooftops, the area buzzed with helicopters overhead. To make certain the jurors were safe, a SWAT team was dispatched to escort them to their cars after court.
Six months later, Michael Flynn, Trump’s former national security adviser, made his appearance. Heavy-armed officers patrolled the courthouse steps while bomb-sniffing dogs surveyed the area.
As for DA Willis herself, she also takes precautions with a security detail, and several members of her team are equipped with panic buttons and bulletproof vests.
For Trump’s arrest last month in Manhattan, barricades were erected, and streets were closed around the courthouse. An estimated 35,000 officers from various law enforcement agencies were on standby. As the former president arrived, a number of Manhattan courtrooms were cordoned off, and his route to and from the courthouse was sealed off.
The Fulton sheriff’s office didn’t comment on this letter. APD also declined about the event.