Fulton County Georgia District Attorney Fani Willis pictured in her office on January 4, 2022.
Ben Gray | PA
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Atlanta’s chief prosecutor asked the FBI to conduct a security assessment and provide protection for a courthouse and government center a day after former President Donald Trump called his supporters to organize “the biggest demonstrations that we have ever had” in the places where he is the subject of an investigation.
Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis, who is investigating Trump for possible criminal interference in Georgia’s 2020 presidential race, said in a letter to the FBI that “security concerns have been exacerbated this weekend by former President Trump’s rhetoric. The reality TV star turned politician spoke at a rally on Saturday in Conroe, Texas.
“We must work together to keep the public safe and ensure that we don’t have a tragedy in Atlanta similar to what happened at the United States Capitol on January 6, 2021,” Willis wrote in his Sunday letter to the special agent in charge of the FBI field office in Atlanta.
On January 6 of the same year, a crowd of Trump supporters stormed the Capitol and interrupted a joint session of Congress that was in the process of confirming that President Joe Biden had won the 2020 election, despite Trump’s false claims to the contrary. .
Willis in his letter cited Trump saying that if he runs for president in 2024 and is elected, he could pardon the rioters for the Jan. 6 crimes “because they are being treated so unfairly.”
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Former U.S. President Donald Trump speaks during a rally in Conroe, Texas, U.S. January 29, 2022.
Go Nakamura | Reuters
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Willis cited the special grand jury and its scheduled start date of May 2 in his letter to the FBI saying, “I have an obligation to ensure that those who work in and visit the Fulton County Courthouse, the Adjacent Fulton County government center and surrounding areas are safe. »
She noted that these buildings are close to the Georgia State Capitol, Atlanta City Hall, and a district and federal circuit court of appeals, as well as State University. from Georgia.
In addition to requesting an immediate risk assessment of the county courthouse and government center, Willis asked the FBI to “provide protective resources to include federal intelligence and agents.”
She wrote that Trump at his rally made multiple references to his probe and others.
At that rally, Trump said, “If these radical, vicious, racist prosecutors do anything wrong or illegal, I hope we’re going to have the biggest protests we’ve ever had in Washington, DC, in New York, Atlanta and elsewhere because our country and our elections are corrupt. »
The Manhattan District Attorney and the New York State Attorney General’s Offices are conducting parallel investigations into Trump’s business practices.
The FBI did not immediately comment on Willis’ request.
Rep. Liz Cheney, the Republican from Wyoming who serves as vice chair of the House Select Committee investigating the events surrounding the Jan. 6 riot, in a tweet early Monday, lambasted Trump for his rhetoric on Saturday.
“Trump uses language that he knows caused the January 6 violence; suggests that he pardon the accused of January 6, some of whom were charged with seditious conspiracy; threatens prosecutors; and admits he was trying to cancel the election, ”Cheney said. “He would start again if he had the chance. »
Earlier this month, a Texas man was arrested by federal authorities for allegedly threatening to kill a Georgia election official and other officials just days after Trump called the Georgia secretary of state.
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