Atlanta sets up ring of steel around courthouse to prepare for Trump’s FOURTH indictment: Armed cops patrol gates as city prepares for ex-president to be indicted in Georgia

Days after former President Donald Trump pleaded not guilty to his third set of criminal charges, Atlanta police erected barriers around the city’s courthouse on Monday as the city prepares for an update. indicted in another case related to the 2020 elections.

Officers closed roads, dogs patrolled the area and food trucks stayed away from the normally busy court district.

Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis is in the final stages of her investigation into Trump’s efforts to reverse his defeat in the swing state of Georgia.

If charged, it will be the fourth time he has been criminally charged since March.

Last week, Fulton County Sheriff Patrick Labat introduced what he called a “protection plan.”

If charged in Fulton County, it will be the fourth time former President Donald Trump has been criminally charged since March

“Our goal is to have all the services that we normally have open and operational, but at the same time to create a safe environment for those we actually serve,” he told a press conference.

The precautions reflect how a divided country is entering uncharted territory, with the potential for mass protests or a repeat of the violence that erupted on January 6, 2021.

Trump, 77, remains the clear frontrunner for the Republican Party’s 2024 nomination.

But its electoral calendar must now take into account a multitude of hearings.

Last week, he appeared in federal court in Washington to plead not guilty to conspiring to defraud the United States by preventing Congress from certifying Democratic President Joe Biden’s victory, depriving American voters of their right to a fair election.

Earlier this summer it was Miami. There he pleaded not guilty to charges related to his manipulation of government documents and an alleged cover-up.

And in April he turned himself in to authorities in New York where he is accused of falsifying business documents as part of a silent payment to a porn star. He pleaded not guilty in this case.

Now Atlanta could be the next setting for his crime battles.

On Monday, the facade of the courthouse was lined with rows of orange plastic barricades as well as steel fencing.

Food carts stayed away and the usually bustling area was empty on Monday

There was a heavy law enforcement presence outside the courthouse amid reports that an indictment will be handed down this week in Fulton County, Georgia.

An anti-Trump protester made his feelings clear, urging the prosecutor to continue

Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis is in the final stages of her investigation into Trump’s efforts to reverse his defeat in the swing state of Georgia.

Local media reports that an indictment is expected this week.

Willis hasn’t revealed much about the case she’s building, but lawyers familiar with her story say they believe she will invoke Georgia’s racketeering laws.

It is modeled after the federal RICO laws which were introduced to help connect mob bosses to crimes committed by their subordinates.

The state was front and center for Trump and his allies as they sought to cling to power following his vote in the 2020 election.

The then president was filmed urging Georgian Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger to help him.

“The people of Georgia are angry, the people of the country are angry,” he said in audio obtained by The Washington Post. “And there’s nothing wrong with saying, you know, uh, you recalculated.”

Raffensperger insisted that Trump’s data was not correct, but the president insisted: “I just want to find 11,780 votes, which is one more than us.”