Downtown Atlanta over the years has played host to a plethora of high-profile sporting, music and cultural events, as well as huge protests and rallies. But the expected indictment of former President Donald Trump in Fulton County presents unique political, logistical and public safety challenges for law enforcement.
If the scene at Trump’s federal arraignment in Miami last month is any guide, his surrender could attract hordes of protesters, counter-protesters and news media from around the world. Law enforcement will be tasked with arranging a safe travel route for the Republican from the airport to the Fulton County courthouse or jail to be processed. They will also need to diffuse any threats from inside or outside the buildings.
Expect to see cops patrolling on bikes, motorcycles, horses and helicopters. Ditto for plainclothes officers.
“It’s not a Chamber of Commerce moment, but you want to make sure it’s a good visit for the city because we’ll be in an international spotlight,” said Joe Whitley, a former U.S. attorney in Atlanta who served as a top Department of Homeland Security official.
Fani Willis, Fulton’s district attorney, has heavily suggested she will seek criminal charges against Trump next month after spending two-and-a-half years investigating him and his closest allies for interfering in Georgia’s 2020 elections. In a letter to law enforcement this spring, Willis urged leaders get ready for “heightened security and preparedness” because her decision could “provoke a significant public reaction.”
They appear to be heeding Willis’s advice.
The Fulton Sheriff’s office confirmed it sent deputies to study the security in Miami and New York City, where Trump in April was arraigned on state charges. (The Atlanta Police Department also assigned a major to travel to Florida.) Fulton Sheriff Pat Labat recently told Channel 2 Action News that his office is seeking to understand “what safety and security looks like so we are prepared holistically.”
Unlike New York, Trump wouldn’t need to be present in Fulton Superior Court for a potential indictment to be unsealed. But he would need to travel here on a date agreed upon by his attorneys and law enforcement to surrender to authorities.
