ATLANTA — Activity outside the Fulton County Courthouse has been quiet ahead of potential indictments against former President Donald Trump and others in Georgia’s 2020 election interference investigation.

Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis plans to make an announcement before Sept. 1 about whether or not a grand jury will bring forth indictments. In May, Willis requested that judges not schedule trials during the weeks beginning Monday, Aug. 7 and Aug. 14, saying that she had plans for 70% of her staff to work remotely during that time, likely to divert staff from any potential threats or protests at the courthouse. 

She had also requested heightened security in the area in preparation of the possible indictment.

The area along the front entrance of the Fulton County Courthouse has been blocked from vehicle access since Aug. 7 and officials plan to have it blocked through Aug. 18. Orange barricades are also up around the courthouse and street parking around courthouse has been restricted.

Fulton County Sheriff Patrick Labat said at an Aug. 1 press conference that law enforcement is prepared to handle any threats or protests, noting that he and Willis have begun receiving threats months ago related to the investigation.

“They started via email, via text messages, via personal phone calls and just as we’ve had threats before — madam DA and I— we’ve ran those to ground,” Labat said. “When you become a keyboard bully, it’s our goal to come and really hold those accountable.”

Some arrests related to threats were made months ago, while recent threats are under investigation, Labat said.

Labat said a number of agencies, including neighboring law enforcement and federal agencies, have lended resources in preparations for response to an indictment in the case.

To date, Donald Trump has been indicted in three jurisdictions in the U.S. this year, but has yet to go through the normal booking process when charged with a crime.

“Unless someone tells me differently, we are following our normal practices,” Labat said. “It doesn’t matter your status, we have mugshots ready for you.”

While it is unknown what charges could come against Trump and his allies in Georgia, reports have speculated that Willis could pursue charges under the state’s Racketeer Influence and Corrupt Organizations Act.

Georgia’s RICO law is generally used to target coordinated and organized schemes. A conviction requires proof that a defendant has committed at least two predicate crimes chargeable to establish racketeering activity and comes with five to 20 years in prison.  

Trump’s Aug. 1 federal indictment brought by U.S. Department of Justice Counsel Jack Smith in D.C. could shed some light on potential evidence that might be used in Georgia’s investigation.

The federal indictment alleges that Trump used unlawful means to subvert the 2020 presidential election in order to remain president, despite his loss to President Joe Biden.

It alleges that Trump and co-conspirators organized fraudulent state of electors in Georgia and seven other states, “attempting to mimic the procedures of the legitimate electors were supposed to follow under the Constitution and other federal and state laws.”

The “electors” signed certificates falsely representing legitimate electors at the pressure of Trump and coconspirators, according to the indictment.

The federal indictment further references Trump’s frequent insinuation that more than 10,000 dead people voted in Georgia, despite Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger dispelling the claims to Trump after several audits and hand counts of ballots.

“It was alleged that there was 10,315 dead people that voted in Georgia,” Raffensperger said at a town hall last year. “I wrote a letter to Congress on Jan. 6, and I said there’s two that we found. Since that time we found two more. Only four dead people voted in the state of Georgia. And so those people that assumed those identities will be brought before the state election board for prosecution and sent over to the Attorney General’s Office.”

On Jan 2, 2021 Trump and co-conspirators called Raffensperger and attempted to get him to alter the state’s votes, the indictment alleges.

Trump asked Raffensperger, on the recorded call, to find “11,870” votes need to place him ahead of Biden in the election on that call. Trump also allegedly told Raffensperger that he and his staff could be subject to criminal prosecution because “you know what they did and you’re not reporting it,” the federal indictment stated.  

The federal indictment also states that Trump and co-conspirators orchestrated a presentation to the Judiciary Subcommittee of the Georgia Senate, ”with the intention of misleading state senators into blocking the ascertainment of legitimate electors.”

During the presentation, a co-conspirator played a “misleading” video of ballot counting at the State Farm Arena in Fulton County to insinuate that election workers were counting illegal suitcases of illegal ballots, according to the indictment.

On Trump’s call to Raffensperger, Trump also referenced the State Farm video, which Raffensperger said the co-conspirators “ sliced and diced the video and took it out of context.”

Trump declined Raffensperger’s offer to send him the full link of the video. 

Among other Georgia references in the federal indictment is a Dec. 8, 2020 call Trump allegedly made to Georgia Attorney General Chris Carr to “pressure him” to support an election fraud lawsuit filed in the Supreme Court by another state’s attorney general. Carr allegedly responded that the state has investigated various claims of fraud but did not have evidence to support the lawsuit.

Ultimately, Trump’s unfounded claims of election fraud in the 2020 presidential elections laid the groundwork for protests leading up to the Jan. 6, 2021 attack on the Capitol. According to the Department of Justice, five people died during or after the attack and approximately 140 officers suffered injuries.

Weeks before the event, Trump urged his supporters in a tweet on Twitter to attend a big protest in D.C. on Jan 6. “Be there, will be wild!” his tweet stated.  

Federal charges related to Trump’s interface with the certification of the electoral vote include: conspiracy to obstruct an official proceeding; obstruction of and attempt to obstruct, an official proceeding; conspiracy against rights.

“Donald J. Trump did knowingly combine, conspire, confederate, and agree with co-conspirators, known and unknown to the Grand Jury, to injure oppress, threaten, and intimidate one or more persons in the free exercise and enjoyment of a right and privilege secured to them by the Constitution and laws of the United States — that is, the right to vote, and have one’s vote counted,” the federal indictments states.  

A 26-member investigative special grand jury, sanctioned by Willis in 2022, recommended earlier this year that Willis seek indictments following its nine-month investigation. The SPGJ received testimony from, or involving, 75 witnesses during its seven-month investigation, according to the limited portions of the report that have been publicly released.

Despite a potential indictment in Georgia, Trump claimed that a fourth indictment would help him get elected again in 2024.

“Any time they file an indictment, we go way up in the polls,” Trump said at a Republican Party dinner in Alabama, per an AP report. “We need one more indictment to close out this election. One more indictment, and this election is closed out. Nobody has even a chance.”

In addition to the federal indictment in D.C., Trump has been indicted on 34 charges in New York for falsifying business records and ordering hush money payments, and 37 counts in Florida involving alleged failure to turn over classified documents that were found at his personal properties.