Fulton County Police Ramp Up Security Before Trump's Expected Indictment

Barricades have been placed outside a Georgia courtroom amid speculation that Donald Trump is due to be indicted as part of an investigation into attempts to overturn the 2020 election results in the state.

The Fulton County Sheriff Office confirmed that they are coordinating with local, state and federal agencies to ensure that security is in place during "high profile legal proceedings" at the courthouse in Atlanta.

The orange barricades arrived as a grand jury could soon decide on whether to bring forward charges under Fulton County Attorney General Fani Willis' probe against the former president in the coming days, adding to Trump's ongoing legal worries. The 2024 GOP presidential primary front runner has long denied any wrongdoing in connection to Willis' probe and accused the investigation of being a politically motivated "witch hunt."

On Thursday, Trump was handed three additional felony charges on top of the 37 he has already pleaded not guilty to in connection with the classified documents case. There also strong rumours that the former president will soon be indicted in Special Counsel Jack Smith's January 6 probe, and he is due to stand trial in New York in March 2024 over allegations he falsified business records related to "hush money" paid to adult film star Stormy Daniels.

The Fulton County Sheriff Office confirmed how they are coordinating with local officials to prepare for any disruption that may take place around the court.

"The Fulton County Sheriff's Office is proactively coordinating with local, state and federal agencies to enhance security during provide high profile legal proceedings at the Fulton County Courthouse," a spokesperson told Newsweek.

"Some of the measures we are deploying, such as barriers that will limit parking near the courthouse, will be obvious to the public. For security reasons, other measures being deployed will not be as obvious.

"We ask the public and anyone working or conducting business at the courthouse to take these additional security measures in mind and plan accordingly to ensure they arrive on time for hearings, meetings and other proceedings. As always, our focus remains on protecting the residents of Atlanta and Fulton County and visitors to the metropolitan Atlanta area."

Willis' two-year investigation originally focused on Trump's January 2021 phone call with Georgia's Secretary of State Brad Raffensberger, in which the former president asked him to "find" the 11,870 votes needed to beat Joe Biden at the last election.

The investigation later expanded to probe allegations of "a multi-state, coordinated plan" between Trump and his allies to influence the results of 2020 election across the country.

A grand jury that will vote on whether there is enough evidence to bring forward an indictment against Trump and others has been sitting since July 11.

It was previously speculated that Willis' office would make a decision on whether Trump will be charged in the case or not around late July or August.

Willis instructed most of her staff to begin working remotely from July 31 to August 18 and requested that judges not schedule trials or in-person hearings during these weeks in what is considered a strong indication that charges could be announced around then.