The prosecutor investigating whether former president Donald Trump meddled in the 2020 US election in Georgia has called for “heightened security” as she predicted a decision on potential charges during the summer.
Fulton County district attorney Fani Willis wrote to law-enforcement bodies saying she expects to announce decisions between July 11 and September 1.
She said she wanted to give time to co-ordinate with local, state and federal agencies “to ensure that our law enforcement community is ready to protect the public”.
“Open-source intelligence has indicated the announcement of decisions in this case may provoke a significant public reaction,” she wrote in the letter, adding some could involve “acts of violence that will endanger the safety of our community”.
Letters were sent to the Fulton County sheriff, Atlanta’s police chief and the head of the Atlanta-Fulton County Emergency Management Agency.
The Atlanta Police Department confirmed receipt of a letter and said it would “continue to monitor the potential for unrest throughout our city”.
“We stand ready to respond to demonstrations to ensure the safety of those in our communities and those exercising their First Amendment right, or to address illegal activity, should the need arise,” a department statement said.
The district attorney has been investigating whether Mr Trump and his allies broke any laws in a bid to overturn his narrow election loss to Democrat rival Joe Biden in Georgia.
The investigation was opened in early 2021, shortly after a recording of a phone call between Mr Trump and Georgia secretary of state Brad Raffensperger – in which the then-president suggested the state’s top elections official could help “find” the votes needed – became public.
The scope of the investigation has expanded far beyond that call.
Mr Trump, who has announced a 2024 bid for the White House, was indicted by grand jury in March on 34 counts of falsifying business records to cover up payments to a porn actor during the 2016 presidential election.
In Washington, federal grand juries are investigating efforts by Mr Trump and his allies to undo the results of the 2020 presidential election and the potential mishandling of classified documents by Trump at his Florida estate.
Trump’s legal team in Georgia said in a statement the announcement to law enforcement “does nothing more than set forth a potential timetable” for decisions.
