Ahead of possible Trump indictment, Atlanta locks down courthouse
Send a link to a friend
[August 08, 2023]
By 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.
[to top of second column]
|
Security barriers are seen after the
Fulton County Sheriff ordered roads to be closed as officials
tighten security around the Lewis R. Slaton Courthouse, as the city
prepares for a possible criminal indictment of former U.S. President
Donald Trump for his attempts to overturn his election defeat in the
state, in Atlanta, Georgia, U.S. August 7, 2023. REUTERS/Elijah
Nouvelage
He has lashed out against the prosecutors who have brought action
against him, accusing them of political bias.
"IF YOU GO AFTER ME, I'M COMING AFTER YOU!" Trump wrote on his Truth
Social site on Friday.
Trump faces a 5 p.m. (2100 GMT) Monday deadline to respond to the
U.S. government's proposed protective order aimed at protecting
witnesses and evidence in the federal case.
Trump supporters stormed the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, in an
attempt to stop Congress from certifying his defeat. Five people
died during and in the immediate aftermath of the violence and
dozens were injured.
Samaya Lockridge, 23, a Democrat, who just moved from Tampa to
Atlanta, said she hoped Atlanta would not see a replay of that
violence.
"I hope it doesn't come to that but who knew it could happen there,"
she said.
(Reporting by Rich McKay in Atlanta and Josephine Walker and Susan
Heavey in Washington; Editing by Scott Malone and Howard Goller)
[© 2023 Thomson Reuters. All rights
reserved.]This material may not be published,
broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
Thompson Reuters is solely responsible for this content.
|