Fani Willis shares threatening email ahead of Trump ‘historical decision’
The Fulton County DA has promised an ‘historical decision’ from her office’s investigation into alleged attempts to overturn Georgia’s 2020 election.
ATLANTA, Ga. (Atlanta News First) - Amid vast speculations that she is going to indict the nation’s 45th president, Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis said her office has been receiving threats.
Over the weekend, Willis shared at least one message with Fulton County commissioners and staffers in the county’s judicial system, including Chief Superior Court Judge Ural Glanville and Keith Gammage, Fulton Solicitor-General.
The email, whose title read “Fani Willis-Corrupt (N-word),” its body read, “You are going to fail, you Jim Crow Democrat w***e.” Willis said she received the email Friday.
“It is not very unique,” Willis emailed her colleagues. “In fact, it is pretty typical and what I have come to expect. I am also aware of some equally ignorant voice mails coming in both to the county customer service and my office. I expect to see many more over the next 30 days ... I guess I am sending this as a reminder that you should stay alert over the month of August and stay safe.”
Security barriers have been set up around the Fulton County courthouse ahead of what Willis has promised to be an “historical decision” coming in August or September regarding her investigation into former President Donald Trump’s alleged attempts to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election.
Two years ago, Willis opened a criminal investigation “into attempts to influence the administration of the 2020 Georgia General Election.”
Months later, a special grand jury with subpoena power was seated in May 2022. In court filings, she alleged “a multi-state, coordinated plan by the Trump campaign to influence the results of the November 2020 election in Georgia and elsewhere,” a contest that eventually saw Joe Biden become the first Democrat to win Georgia since Bill Clinton in 1992.
Trump had zeroed in on the county after he lost Georgia by a slim margin in the November 2020 general election. In phone calls to state election officials and in public comments, Trump made claims of widespread election fraud in Fulton.
Actions he took as he tried to overturn his election loss, including a phone call to Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger, led Willis to open an ongoing investigation into whether Trump and others illegally meddled in the state’s election.
In a late April letter, Willis warned Fulton County Sheriff Patrick Labat of “charging decisions” coming this summer in connection with her investigation. In that same letter, she notified Fulton County deputies she will announce charges from her investigation sometime between July 11 and Sept. 1.
On May 2, Willis said she is planning to make a “historical decision” this summer regarding her investigation. Later that month, she sent a letter to the Fulton County Superior Court, in which the DA notified Glanville her office plans to work remotely during the first three weeks of August and asking no trials be scheduled during that time.
Gammage replied over the weekend to Willis’ message, thanking her “for the important public safety work in which you are engaged.
As a colleague, I am deeply offended by the repugnant, hateful, ignorant communication that you received,” he wrote. “In my view, the words chosen, taken together go beyond harassing communications and constitute a veiled threat to a public official. These are haunting words and the reference to Jim Crow harkens back to a time that we will never revisit.
“As prosecutors, court officials and frankly all elected servants, we choose to serve in roles in which we expect to be targeted at times, nonetheless, we are still regular people with sensibilities and concerns for our personal safety and that of our families,” he wrote. “The awful communication that you received is meant to threaten, harass and intimidate, not just you, but all of us. The sender and his or her ilk has and will continue to fail.”
Atlanta News First and Atlanta News First+ provide you with the latest news, headlines and insights as Georgia continues its role at the forefront of the nation’s political scene. Download our Atlanta News First app for the latest political news and information.
Copyright 2023 WANF. All rights reserved.
