Citing Trump's rhetoric, Atlanta-area DA seeks FBI assistance with security amid probe

Citing Donald Trump's "alarming" weekend claims about multiple investigations that continue to shadow him, Atlanta-area District Attorney Fani Willis is asking the FBI to assess the security of the local government complex as authorities prepare to empanel a special grand jury to investigate the former president's intervention in Georgia's 2020 election.

"I am asking that you immediately conduct a risk assessment of the Fulton County Courthouse and Government Center, and that you provide protective resources to include intelligence and federal agents," Willis said in a letter to Atlanta FBI chief J.C. Hacker.

Willis, Fulton County's district attorney, said her request was prompted by Trump's Saturday appearance in Conroe, Texas, where he referred to "radical, vicious, racist prosecutors" and called on his supporters to stage the "biggest protests we have ever had in Washington, D.C., in New York, in Atlanta and elsewhere because our country and our elections are corrupt.”

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While Willis is leading an investigation into Trump's interference in Georgia, authorities in New York are conducting a sweeping investigation into the operations of Trump's family business and a special House committee in Washington is reviewing Trump's role in the deadly Capitol attack on Jan. 6 of last year.

"We must work together to keep the public safe and ensure that we do not have a tragedy in Atlanta similar to what happened at the United States Capitol on January 6, 2021," Willis wrote.

Willis said Trump's rhetoric was especially "alarming" since he suggested at the same event that if he won reelection, he would consider pardoning those convicted in the Capitol attacks.

“If I run and if I win, we will treat those people from Jan. 6 fairly," Trump told supporters at the Texas rally. "We will treat them fairly. And if it requires pardons, we will give them pardons because they are being treated so unfairly.”

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The FBI acknowledged receiving Willis' letter, but declined to comment on the substance of the request.

The FBI doesn't generally conduct the kind of security assessment sought by the district attorney.

Yet Willis' request underscores concerns raised by the Justice Department related to potential threats against elected officials.

Earlier this month, federal authorities charged a Texas man with threatening state officials in Georgia in the aftermath the 2020 election, including his call to "exterminate" authorities who he labeled "lawless traitors."

The case against Chad Stark, 54, marked the first enforcement action brought by the Justice Department’s Election Threats Task Force, launched by Attorney General Merrick Garland and Deputy Attorney General Lisa Monaco last summer.

The case against Stark emerged from about 850 threats referred so far to federal authorities, resulting in dozens of pending investigations, Assistant Attorney General Kenneth Polite has said.

Elaborating on her request to the FBI, Willis said she has "an obligation" to safeguard her employees and those who work in and around the Fulton County office complex.

"My staff and I have already made adjustments to accommodate security concerns during the course of this investigation, considering the communications we have received from persons unhappy with our commitment to fulfill our duties," the district attorney wrote. "We are also working with Fulton County officials about the need for additional security measures as the investigation progresses."

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Atlanta-area DA Fani Willis seeks FBI help in securing Trump probe