Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis reaffirmed in a local news interview that she will announce charging decisions by September 1 in her investigation into efforts by Donald Trump and his allies to overturn Georgia’s 2020 presidential election result, while applauding the ramped-up security measures around the local courthouse.
“The work is accomplished,” Willis told CNN affiliate WXIA at a back-to-school event over the weekend. “We’ve been working for two and half years. We’re ready to go.”
Willis has previously signaled in letters to local officials and those providing security that she would make any charging announcements between July 31 and the end of August. She laid out a variety of security provisions her team plans to take beginning Monday.
Willis’ latest commitment to that time frame comes after a judge scheduled an August 10 hearing on the Trump team’s efforts to disqualify Willis, a Democrat, from the case, toss much of the evidence she has collected and remove another judge in Fulton County from presiding over the case.
In the local news interview, Willis also praised the Fulton County sheriff after barricades recently went up around the county courthouse in anticipation of what the sheriff’s office referred to as “high profile legal proceedings.”
“I think that the sheriff is doing something smart in making sure that the courthouse stays safe,” Willis said. “I’m not willing to put any of the employees or the constituents that come to the courthouse in harm’s way.”
Willis said that people may not be happy with her upcoming announcements and “sometimes when people are unhappy, they act in a way that could create harm.”
Security threats
Willis also urged local officials to stay vigilant about possible security threats in an e-mail over the weekend, in which she shared a racist and sexualized message she received and said similar obscene messages had been left via voicemail.
“I am sending to you in case you are unclear on what I and my staff have come accustomed to over the last 2 ½ years,” Willis wrote in the email to Fulton County officials. “I guess I am sending this as a reminder that you should stay alert over the month of August and stay safe.”
She added: “Please make decisions that keep your staff safe.”
The email warning was first reported by the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
In a response to Willis’ email also obtained by CNN, Fulton County Solicitor-General Keith E. Gammage said: “The awful communication that you received is meant to threaten, harass and intimidate, not just you, but all of us.”
This story has been updated with additional developments.