Fulton County grand jury targets of threats after Trump's indictment in Georgia
Fulton County grand jury now targets of threats
Troubling threats online have the Fulton County Sheriff’s Office and the FBI on alert. Investigators say people are targeting the district attorney, the sheriff and their families. But that’s not all. They’re also going after members of the Fulton County grand jury.
ATLANTA - Law enforcement in Fulton County is on high alert just days after former President Donald Trump and 18 of his allies were named in a sprawling indictment related to the Georgia election probe.
The Fulton County Sheriff’s Office says threats have been posted online directed toward the grand jury responsible for the indictment.
"The insinuation is these people did something wrong and did something against our democracy that they can't be trusted, and they need to be dealt with in some way," said Daniel J. Jones from Advance Democracy.
Advance Democracy, a nonpartisan research organization, first spotted the troubling posts on a fringe website. Jones, the group’s founder, says photos believed to be of the grand jurors along with their possible addresses and phone numbers were posted.
"It is really important that law enforcement take it seriously and that they begin to make sure that they can counter some of these threats," he said.
The concerning posts directed toward Grand Jurors comes as the FBI is now looking into threats against Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis, Sheriff Pat Labat and their families. Since Monday's unprecedented racketeering indictment threats have intensified.
"We have to take every threat seriously and so authorities are going to end up expending a lot of effort," said David Schweidel, an Emory University Professor and Social Media expert.
Schweidel says law enforcement will have a tall task to identify those making the threats and to figure out if they are credible. A cybersecurity professor agrees.
"The more underground, if you will, that people are posting these comments, the harder it is going to be for authorities to be able to monitor the online traffic," he said.
"The people making the threats are hiding their identities and their names," said Anu Bourgeois, a Georgia State University cybersecurity professor. "It's going to be really difficult for law enforcement to be able to find out who it is that's actually making the threats."
The Fulton County Sheriff’s Office and the FBI are investigating the threats. Both Sheriff Labat and DA Willis have security details assigned to keep them safe.