Law enforcement investigating threats to Georgia grand jurors in Trump case

By Michael Hernandez

WASHINGTON (AA) - Authorities are investigating threats against members of the grand jury that indicted former US President Donald Trump regarding election interference charges in the state of Georgia, officials said Thursday.

"The Fulton County Sheriff's Office is aware that personal information of members of the Fulton County Grand Jury is being shared on various platforms. As the lead agency, our investigators are working closely with local, state, and federal law enforcement agencies to track down the origin of threats in Fulton County and other jurisdictions," it said in a statement.

"We take this matter very seriously and are coordinating with our law enforcement partners to respond quickly to any credible threat and to ensure the safety of those individuals who carried out their civic duty," it added.

The announcement comes after the purported names and addresses of the grand jurors were circulated online on a far-right website this week. NBC News first reported on the matter.

Trump and 18 co-conspirators were indicted Monday for racketeering centered on alleged efforts to overturn Georgia's election results.

The 98-page indictment said Trump and his co-defendants, including personal attorney Rudy Giuliani, former Chief of Staff Mark Meadows, former senior Justice Department official Jeffrey Clark, and attorneys Sidney Powell and John Eastman, "constituted a criminal organization whose members and associates engaged in various related criminal activities."

Trump was charged in Georgia with 13 criminal counts, including violations of the Georgia state Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations (RICO) Act, solicitation of violation of oath by a public officer, conspiracy to commit impersonating a public officer and conspiracy to commit false statements.

RICO and its corresponding state laws were originally used to crack down on organized crime but have been broadened to tackle a number of other illegal activities such as Ponzi schemes.

Trump has now been indicted four times in state and federal courts since he left office. The charges range from hush money payments to an adult film star, efforts to overturn national election results, unlawful retention of classified documents and efforts to prevent investigators from completing their duties.

Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis' probe was sparked by a Jan. 2, 2021 telephone call Trump made to Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger in which he urged the senior state official to "find 11,780 votes,” the number he would have needed to win the battleground state. A recording of the call was later leaked to the media.

Willis' investigation went on to include a probe of fake local electors who attempted to certify fraudulent election results in Trump's favor.