Fani Willis seeks to shield jurors' identities in Trump's election case after threats

Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis is seeking to shield the identities of jurors in the Georgia election conspiracy case from being disseminated by defendants or media outlets, according to court documents obtained by Lawfare’s Anna Bower.

Willis in Wednesday’s filing asked the court to “restrict the dissemination of jurors’ identities by any Defendant, members of the press, or any other person during the pendency of this trial.”

Willis’ request follows reports that some of the grand jurors who voted to indict former President Donald Trump faced online threats.

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Willis’ motion seeks to prevent “any defendant or member of the press from videotaping, photographing, drawing or otherwise creating or publishing images of the jurors or prospective jurors inside or outside the courtroom,” or publishing any identifying information or descriptions “that would assists persons in determining the identity of any jurors or prospective jurors, specifically physical descriptions, telephone numbers, addresses, employer names, and membership affiliations of all jurors or prospective jurors.”

“In a widely publicized case, the right of the accused to a trial by an impartial jury can be seriously threatened by the conduct of the news media prior to and during trial,” Willis wrote, citing prior case law.