Fulton County, Ga., District Attorney Fani Willis said on Monday she would announce this summer whether former President Trump and his allies would be charged with crimes related to interference in Georgia’s 2020 election. Willis disclosed the timetable in a letter asking local law enforcement to be ready for “heightened security and preparedness” because her announcement “may provoke a significant public reaction,” reports the Atlanta Jounal-Constitution. Willis said she will announce possible criminal charges between July 11 and Sept. 1, sending one of the strongest signals yet that she’s on the verge of trying to obtain an indictment against Trump and his supporters. “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 to Fulton Sheriff Patrick Labat.
Similar letters were hand delivered to Darin Schierbaum, Atlanta’s chief of police, and Matthew Kallmyer, director of the Atlanta-Fulton County Emergency Management Agency. “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 those we are sworn to protect,” Willis wrote. “As leaders, it is incumbent upon us to prepare.” Trump has called for mass demonstrations in response to overreach from prosecutors — triggering concerns about violent unrest not unlike the Jan. 6, 2021, insurrection he promoted. Several legal observers closely following the Fulton investigation, which Willis launched more than two years ago, said the letters suggest that Willis will seek charges against the former president. “It obviously seems to imply the case against Trump will be presented to a grand jury,” former Gwinnett County District Attorney Danny Porter said. “I don’t think any of the other targets would raise that level of caution. I think that’s the obvious implication.”