Ahead of possible Trump indictment, Atlanta locks down courthouse
investing.comBy Rich McKay and Josephine Walker
ATLANTA (Reuters) — Law-enforcement officers surrounded the Fulton County courthouse on Monday in downtown Atlanta, Georgia, amid closed roads and traffic barriers put up to boost security ahead of a possible indictment of former U.S. President Donald Trump.
Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis is wrapping up a probe of attempts to overturn his 2020 election defeat in the politically competitive state of Georgia. If he is indicted, it would be the fourth time since March he was criminally charged.
Normally bustling streets outside the gray stone courthouse were largely empty, devoid of food trucks that normally serve breakfast and lunch to court workers, most of whom Willis had urged to work remotely as a grand jury decision loomed.
The front of the courthouse was lined with rows of orange plastic, water-filled Jersey barriers and steel crowd control barricades. Dozens of county sheriff's deputies were stationed out front, and other deputies and Atlanta police drove marked cars in circles around the streets nearby.
«Our goal is to have all the services we normally have open and operational but at the same time create a safe environment for those that we actually service,» Fulton County Sheriff Patrick Labat told a press conference last week as security measures were being phased in.
«It is part of a protective plan,» he said.
Trump, 77, the front-runner for the Republican 2024 presidential nomination, was indicted a third time last week.
He pleaded not guilty to federal charges in Washington that he conspired to defraud the U.S. by preventing Congress from certifying Democratic President Joe Biden's victory, depriving U.S. voters of their right to a fair election.
He has
Read more on investing.com
