Officials in Georgia are currently probing a series of concerning online threats targeting individuals who serve on the grand jury that recently indicted Donald Trump.
The indictment, which was handed down on Monday, includes 13 charges such as racketeering and election meddling. Despite Trump’s claims of political motivation behind the charges, these threats raise concerns about potential jury intimidation.
“Personal information, including addresses and photographs of jurors, were maliciously shared across various right-wing platforms. The Fulton County Sheriff’s Office has acknowledged the threats and is collaborating with local, state, and federal law enforcement agencies to identify those responsible. Although revealing the identities of jurors is common practice in Georgia, the extent of the threats has prompted officials to respond swiftly in order to protect the jurors’ safety”.
“Supporters of former President Trump compiled publicly available information and disseminated it across platforms such as the social media site Telegram. Some posts on Truth Social, a platform owned by Trump, carried messages urging fellow supporters to prevent jurors from “walking down the street” and to make them “infamous.””
“Additionally, there have been reports of violent rhetoric directed towards Fani Willis, the prosecutor overseeing Trump’s case in Georgia. Even two NBC News reporters who covered the grand jury case reportedly had their alleged addresses disclosed online”.
Media Matters, a non-profit organization monitoring conservative media, condemned the sharing of juror information, labeling it a “hit list.” Notably, Georgia deviates from the norm in the US legal system by revealing the identities of jurors, a practice aimed at bolstering public confidence in the justice system. However, personal details such as addresses remain undisclosed.
Trump, a prominent figure in the Republican party and a front-runner for the 2024 presidential nomination, has consistently criticized those involved in his legal cases. Recent incidents include a post he made on Truth Social, which US prosecutors reported to a judge as an attempt to intimidate individuals connected to his case.
These events come amid broader concerns of escalating threats and violence. In a separate case, a Texas woman has been charged for threatening a judge overseeing a different case involving Trump. Furthermore, FBI agents in Utah recently apprehended an individual who had issued death threats against President Joe Biden on Truth Social. This incident underscores the platform’s role in facilitating such threats and the vigilance of law enforcement agencies in monitoring them.
“In an unrelated development, a Canadian woman has been sentenced to 22 years in a US prison for mailing a letter containing ricin to Donald Trump during his presidency”.
