Fani Willis says she’s received 150 personal threats in last 2 months following Trump indictment
ATLANTA, Ga. (Atlanta News First) - On Wednesday, Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis told county leaders she’s received 150 personal threats in the last two months since the indictment of former President Donald Trump and 18 of his GOP allies in Fulton County.
“(The threats) come in through my phone line, they come into the magistrate court, they come in through written letter, they come in through text message,” Willis told the Fulton County Board of Commissioners on Wednesday.
Willis urged the county to allow her to designate more of her staff as “personal” employees, a change that would allow her to have more hiring control, including increasing the salaries of prospective staff members.
FULL COVERAGE: Donald Trump Fulton County indictment
“The demands I am putting on my staff right now to try and track down and investigate the threats and also to keep me alive, which has become a real concern for me. I’ve got to have people who are loyal to me and that my life means something to,” said Willis on Wednesday.
In August, former President Donald Trump was indicted on racketeering, conspiracy and other charges by a grand jury in Fulton County. Willis investigated the former president and his allies for more than two years.
In July, ahead of the indictment, Willis reported her office received targeted threats over email.
One email, shared with Atlanta News First, had a title that read “Fani Willis-Corrupt (N-word).” The body of the email read, “You are going to fail, you Jim Crow Democrat w***e.”
Willis said even after the indictment, the threats have not stopped.
While no formal agreement was made on Wednesday, commissioners agreed in principle with Willis to allow her to designate more of her staff as personal employees, as long as she stayed within her allotted budget.
Prior to the change, Willis had to receive approval through the county to adjust salaries and benefits as needed for hiring certain staff members.
Willis said she has roughly 150 lawyers and 90 investigators on her team.
She said she has recently lost staff members to neighboring jurisdictions because of financial incentives.
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