Donald Trump: US police investigating threats to Georgia jurors after names and addresses posted online

Authorities in Georgia have said they are investigating threats against members of the grand jury that indicted former US President Donald Trump.

The Fulton County Sheriff’s Office said it is working to trace the origin of the threats after “personal information of members of the jury” - including their addresses - was posted online.

It is required under the law in Georgia that the jurors names’ are made public - and so they were included in the indictment that listed the charges against Trump. However, concerns have been raised after the information appeared on various social media platforms, with police investigating in the interest of their safety.

According to The Independent, several users on Trump’s rightwing social media platform Truth Social publicly shared the names of the jurors, with one writing, “Someone needs to look into all of these grand jurors. I can guarantee that everyone of them has a BIG FAT D by their name!”

Meanwhile, another added: “I’m looking forward to the fun some will have with the list of leaked grand jurors...”

It comes after Trump was charged on Tuesday (15 August) with illegally attempting to overturn his 2020 election loss in the state of Georgia. The former US President was indicted on counts that include forgery, racketeering, and violating an oath of office, as prosecutors accused him of a sweeping criminal conspiracy designed to keep himself in power.

Eighteen of his allies - including former White House chief of staff Mark Meadows, Trump’s ex-lawyer Rudy Giuliani, and a Trump administration Justice Department official Jeffrey Clark - were also charged.

It marks the second time Trump has been charged in connection to his alleged scheme to overturn the will of voters after losing to Joe Biden in 2020 - and the fourth time he has faced criminal charges this year. He has denied all allegations.

In a statement on the alleged online threats, the Fulton County Sheriff’s Office said: “We take this matter very seriously and are co-ordinating with our law enforcement partners to respond quickly to any credible threat and to ensure the safety of those individuals who carried out their civic duty.”

The American Bar Association added: “The civic-minded members of the Georgia grand jury performed their duty to support our democracy. It is unconscionable that their lives should be upended and safety threatened for being good citizens.”

Amid a rise in violent rhetoric directed towards public officials, the Georgia grand jurors are not the only ones to face threats over their involvement in the four pending criminal cases against Mr Trump.

A woman in Texas has been charged with making a phone call on 5 August threatening to kill US District Judge Tanya Chutkan, who is overseeing the federal case against Trump in Washington.

And, on 9 August, FBI agents killed an armed man facing arrest on charges of making violent threats against President Joe Biden and law enforcement officials involved in prosecuting Mr Trump.