ATLANTA — The scene outside the Fulton County Courthouse in downtown Atlanta is perhaps the biggest indication that something big could be happening inside soon.
The road in front of the building has been closed to traffic, orange barricades and metal barriers line the street, and officers from the sheriff’s and sheriff’s offices have a visible presence.
On Monday morning, a bomb-sniffing dog was brought in to search media vehicles.
The drastic increase in security is one of many signs that Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis will soon present her 2020 election interference case before a grand jury.
Willis, who has been investigating whether former President Donald Trump and his allies meddled in the 2020 Georgia presidential election, sent subpoenas to witnesses in the investigation, telling them to be prepared to testify before the end of the month.
The added security measures put in place Monday were expected after Willis sent letters to the chief judge and law enforcement officials earlier this year indicating his office could file charges in the first half of August.
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“I respectfully request that judges not schedule in-person trials or hearings during the weeks beginning Monday, August 7 and Monday, August 14,” Willis wrote in his letter to the chief judge in May.
Willis has been conducting an extensive investigation since early 2021 into whether there were “coordinated attempts to unlawfully tamper with the outcome of the 2020 election” by Trump and his allies.
She recruited a special grand jury last year that was empowered to subpoena witnesses to help the investigation; she heard testimony from 75 witnesses, court records show. The panel recommended charging more than a dozen people, its leader said on NBC’s “Nightly News” in February.
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Among those who have received subpoenas to testify are former state Sen. Jen Jordan and state Rep. Bee Nguyen, two Democrats who attended hearings in which Rudy Giuliani, then a lawyer for Trump, urged officials not to certify the results of the subpoenas. Georgia election based on a discredited conspiracy. theories
Former Republican Lieutenant Governor Geoff Duncan also confirmed that he received a subpoena to testify.
The subpoenas instruct each recipient to remain “on call” in August, noting that they “will receive at least 48 hours’ notice before their presence is required.”
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Duncan, Nguyen and Jordan said they have not received their 48-hour notices to appear, an indication that Willis may not file his case until later this week or next.
Atlanta journalist George Chidi tweeted last week that he had received a subpoena. He discovered a meeting of so-called fake voters on December 14, 2020 and was told at that time that it was an educational meeting.
Willis’s investigation also looked into Trump’s efforts to pressure Republican Gov. Brian Kemp and Republican Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger over the election results, as well as a plan to have a list of alternate presidential electors.
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Both Trump’s call to Raffensperger and the constituency scheme figured prominently in special counsel Jack Smith’s federal indictment last week, alleging that Trump used “illegal means” to try to stay in office.
Kemp’s office said he had not been subpoenaed to appear before a grand jury as of Monday morning. Raffensperger’s office declined to comment.
Trump has pleaded not guilty in the federal case. He maintains that he has done nothing wrong in the Georgia case and has instead accused Willis, a Democrat, of conducting a politically motivated “witch hunt.”
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With possible indictments looming, some Fulton County departments are adjusting their staffing levels or workflows. Most of the Willis staff are working remotely. Anyone appearing in county magistrates court in the next two weeks has been asked to do so virtually.
Despite the security activity outside the courthouse, Fulton County spokeswoman Jessica Corbitt said inside, “for the most part, it’s business as usual.”
“We are prepared and all of our county facilities are open,” he said.
