Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis has put law enforcement authorities on standby, citing potential unrest over a potential indictment of former President Donald Trump.
In an April 24 letter, Willis thanked Sheriff Patrick Labat for efforts he has already made to ramp up security at the Fulton County Courthouse while cautioning that his “need for vigilance will increase.”
Willis stated she will soon announce charging decisions stemming from an investigation into whether Trump attempted to interfere in the administration of Georgia’s 2020 election, speculating about possible violence, and highlighting “the need for heightened security and preparedness in coming months due to this pending announcement.”
According to Willis’s letter, “open-source intelligence” suggests her announcement could provoke a “significant public reaction,” which is driving her call for police to prepare for demonstrations and violence.
“I will be announcing charging decisions resulting from this investigation during Fulton County Superior Court’s fourth term of court, which will begin on July 11, 2023, and conclude on September 1, 2023,” she wrote. “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.”
The Atlanta Journal Constitution (AJC) reported that similar letters were delivered to Atlanta's chief of police and the director of the Atlanta-Fulton County Emergency Management Agency.
Georgia prosecutors have been considering ways to bring racketeering charges under the state’s Racketeer Influences and Corrupt Organizations (RICO) statutes. Authorities also question several calls made to Georgia’s Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger weeks after the 2020 election.
Legal experts watching the case believe that Willis will indict Trump.
“It obviously seems to imply the case against Trump will be presented to a grand jury,” former Gwinnett County District Attorney Danny Porter said, per AJC. “I don’t think any of the other targets would raise that level of caution. I think that’s the obvious implication.”
AJC also included a statement from Norm Eisen, a former ethics czar under former President Barack Obama: “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.”
