Streets Around Courthouse Being Shut Down as Rumors of Another Trump Indictment Grow
Streets around the Fulton County Courthouse in Atlanta will be closed beginning next week in anticipation of another indictment of former President Donald Trump.
Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis has yet to announce if she plans to indict Trump on charges of election interference in regard to his decision to challenge the state’s 2020 presidential results.
But she said months ago that judges should not plan to hold any trials or in-person meetings during much of August as a grand jury looked into the matter.
Fulton County Sheriff Patrick Labat, a Democrat, then announced this week that his department was prepared to fingerprint and photograph when and if news of an indictment came down.
On Friday, Labat offered another indication Trump will be charged when the sheriff’s office announced several streets will be closed to the public starting on Monday.
WSB-TV reported Labat announced that Pryor Street, one of downtown Atlanta’s business streets, will be closed for 12 days from Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard to Mitchell Street.
Natalie Ammons, spokeswoman for the sheriff’s office, said closing the streets would address “security concerns.”
“Sheriff Labat’s top priority is to make sure that everyone that still comes to conduct business at the courthouse and the government center or anywhere near this footprint stays safe,” she said.
Ammons did not elaborate on what concerns had been expressed or why the measures were being taken.
Labat indicated earlier in the week that if Trump is charged, the Fulton County Sheriff’s Office will treat him as if he is any other alleged criminal.
“Unless somebody tells me differently, we are following our normal practices, and so it doesn’t matter your status, we’ll have a mugshot ready for you,” Labat told WSB.
“If an indictment came today, we would be ready.”
Labat also said he had sent deputies to Miami and New York City to watch how authorities in both areas handled security for Trump arraignments in both areas.
Trump now has been indicted three times.
The former president was indicted by Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg in April on dozens of counts of falsifying business records in 2016, and he has been indicted twice by Justice Department special counsel Jack Smith.
One set of charges stemmed from the classified documents case in Florida, where the DOJ alleges Trump hoarded government secrets at his Mar-a-Lago home and club.
Earlier this week in Washington, D.C., Trump was indicted for alleged crimes related to his decision to challenge the 2020 election results.
Labat said he has watched the other indictments closely but does not know when or if a similar one will come down in Fulton County.
“We meet daily, and so we will have as much lead time as possibly available to us and ultimately, we will respond accordingly,” Labat told WSB.
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