Georgia prosecutor in Trump probe urges law enforcement agency to ready for indictments

A Georgia prosecutor investigating Donald Trump over allegations of interference in the 2020 elections said Monday her office is nearing a decision on whether to indict the former president and urged local enforcement to ready for what she described as a “significant public reaction,” The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports.

Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis in a letter to Sheriff Patrick Labat said she plans to announce possible indictments between July 11 and Sept. 1, and the report by the AJC’s Tamar Hallerman and Bill Rankin describes the announcement as among the “strongest signals yet that she’s on the verge of trying to obtain an indictment against Trump and his supporters.”

“In the near future, I will announce charging decisions resulting from the investigation my office has been conducting into possible criminal interference in the administration of Georgia’s 2020 General Elections,” the letter said.

“I am providing this letter to bring to your attention the need for heightened security and preparedness in coming months due to this pending announcement.”

Trump has called for demonstrations over prosecutions, which has prompted concerns of unrest similar to that which occurred in the Jan. 6 insurrection, the report said.

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“Open-source intelligence has indicated the announcement of decisions in this case may provoke a significant public reaction. We have seen in recent years that some may go outside of public expressions of opinion that are protected by the First Amendment to engage in acts of violence that will endanger the safety of our community. As leaders, it is incumbent upon us to prepare.”

The report notes that such preparations have recent precedent.

In May 2022, the Fulton County Sheriff’s Office blocked vehicle traffic on the streets surrounding the courthouse and stationed armed deputies, some of which had semi-automatic rifles, when a judge empaneled a special grand jury.

Hallerman and Rankin write: “Snipers patrolled nearby rooftops as helicopters circled overhead. Law enforcement also deployed a SWAT team to protect jurors as they returned to their cars at the end of the day.”

“Six months later, before jurors interviewed Michael Flynn, Trump’s former national security adviser, they assigned heavily armed officers to guard the courthouse steps and brought in a bomb-sniffing dog.”

“Please accept this correspondence as notice to allow you sufficient time to prepare the Sheriff’s Office and coordinate with local, state and federal agencies to ensure that our law enforcement community is ready to protect the public,” Willis wrote.