Fulton County D.A. receives racist threats as charging decision against Trump looms

District Attorney Fani Willis warned Fulton County commissioners this weekend they should "stay alert" over the next month, according to emails obtained by CBS News. 

She pointed to a threatening email she received last week with a subject line reading, "Fani Willis = Corrupt N*****." The body of the email said, "You are going to fail, you Jim Crow Democrat whore."  

Willis said the message was "pretty typical" of what her office has been receiving and said she is aware of "equally ignorant voicemails" that have come into the county office and to her own office. She said she expects more over the next month. The Atlanta Journal-Constitution first reported Wills' warning to the county commissioners. 

"I took an oath. No one other than the citizens of Fulton County put me in this seat. I have every intention of doing my job. Please make decisions that keep your staff safe," Willis wrote. 

In response, the Fulton County solicitor general called the message "reprehensible" and said his office's investigative team is making modifications to "align us with other law enforcement partners within the county." 

Over the weekend, Willis told NBC affiliate WXIA that security is being increased around the county courthouse and said she's "ready to go" following her 2 1/2-year investigation into alleged efforts by former President Donald Trump and his allies to upend President Joe Biden's 2020 presidential election victory in Georgia. 

A special grand jury was convened in May 2022 to investigate those alleged efforts, and it issued a report earlier this year, with a unanimous finding that "no widespread fraud took place in the Georgia 2020 presidential election that could result in overturning that election." Portions of the report remain sealed.

Monday marks the opening day of the three-week window that Willis cited for a potential decision on whether to charge former President Donald Trump, members of his administration, allies or so-called "fake electors" who sought to overturn Georgia's presidential election results. Two regular grand juries were sworn in earlier this month, and one of them could eventually hear evidence presented by Willis. Orange barricades have been set up around part of the Fulton County courthouse.

A Georgia judge on Monday rejected Trump's request to quash a report by a special grand jury in Fulton County about his conduct after the 2020 election and to disqualify Willis from further involvement in the case. 

In:
• Georgia
• Donald Trump

Nikole Killion

Nikole Killion is a congressional correspondent for CBS News based in Washington D.C.

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