亚特兰大-在佐治亚州的富尔顿县，路障已经竖起，县法院前的道路被封闭，法庭案件听证会被鼓励虚拟化，因为富尔顿县地方检察官范尼·威利斯预计将很快宣布对她调查的指控决定唐纳德·特朗普总统以及他的盟友所谓的推翻该州2020年选举的努力。
威利斯最近有迹象表明她的团队她准备向大陪审团提交证据，大陪审团可能决定是否批准对特朗普的指控，特朗普已经在特别顾问对选举干预的调查、特别顾问的机密文件调查和曼哈顿检察官的封口费案件中被起诉三次。
特朗普对所有指控均不认罪，并否认所有不当行为。
威利斯的调查围绕特朗普2021年1月2日给佐治亚州国务卿布拉德·拉芬斯佩格的电话展开，特朗普在电话中敦促他“找到11，780张选票”——这正是前总统在该州获胜所需的票数。
尽管喧嚣，富尔顿县的一些人质疑另一项起诉的目的，表达了多余的政治周期的情绪，他们说这不会对他们的投票产生太大影响。
特朗普已经被起诉过多少次了?
在政治场合，如州选举委员会会议和县党代表会议，人们对另一项特朗普起诉的影响表达了强烈的意见，而在公园和购物中心走动的其他人则不太了解威利斯调查的来龙去脉。
“特朗普已经被起诉过多少次了?我们为什么要追求对富尔顿县没有任何影响的东西，”退休教育工作者朱莉·艾伦在州选举委员会会议后告诉美国广播公司新闻，她在会上发言倡导手算，手标记的选票。
艾伦认为，她希望县官员关注其他问题，她说这些问题将更好地为富尔顿县人民服务，称对特朗普的调查是“一枚闪亮的硬币”。
“有大量积压的案件，我们与监狱有问题。我们需要一个新监狱，为新监狱提供资金，监狱里的空调坏了——所有这些东西，”艾伦说。
“我投了范尼·威利斯的票。我没有投票让她去这条兔子路。所有的钱。富尔顿县为此付出了什么代价?为了什么目的?出于什么目的?”艾伦质疑道。
地方检察官应该“一边嚼口香糖一边走路”
然而，富尔顿县的许多人认为，威利斯的调查势在必行。富尔顿县是一个民主党占主导地位的地区，拜登总统在2020年赢得了该县70%以上的选票。
“如果你触犯了法律，尤其是在我这个州触犯了法律，你理应被追究责任。我很高兴有人希望让他承担责任，”Duo Haynes在亚特兰大的一次年轻民主党人会议上告诉ABC新闻。
海恩斯说，从很小的时候起，他的父母就经常在选举期间带他去投票箱，向他灌输民主进程重要性的强大基础。对他来说，威利斯的调查是保护美国民主价值观的“正确之举”。
“当你开始试图欺骗体制，在民主体制、民主规范之外寻找途径，这让我感到不安，”他说。
当被问及威利斯受到的批评时，海恩斯说，地区检察官同时处理多个案件是意料之中的。
“我觉得我们应该希望我们的民选官员，尤其是我们的地方检察官和执法人员，一边嚼口香糖，一边走路。如果我们地检办不能同时起诉两起犯罪，她就不应该是地检，但是...她在让人们负起责任方面做得相当不错，”海恩斯说。
这些指控对特朗普的支持率没有太大影响。据报道，在最近一次起诉前后，他的净“好评”率保持相对稳定538的平均投票率.
共和党策略师詹妮尔·金(Janelle King)认为，一些人对特朗普的调查不感兴趣，是因为检察官没有“成功分享这如何直接影响人们的日常生活”。
金说，特朗普的政治信息也有助于他在共和党初选中在多项起诉中不断上升的民调数字。据统计，特朗普在全国民调中仍以近53%的支持率领先于他最接近的对手罗恩·德桑蒂斯州长，他的支持率为14%五月三十八日的最新民调平均值.
“这不是共和党对民主党的事情。这不是特朗普和拜登之间的事。这是一个事实，特朗普已经想出如何突出人们对政府的小的，在某些情况下，大的苦恼，”金说。
“你确实有对这个人极度投入的MAGA选民，但你也有很多独立选民...极度投入战斗。我认为正在犯的错误是假设此时支持总统的每个人都在支持这个人。”
如果特朗普在富尔顿县被起诉，这将是他在不到六个月的时间里第四次被起诉，让一些人对特朗普感到疲劳。
“有很多东西要跟上，而这一切都变成了一个。你不确定这是哪里的问题，什么时候发生的。斯凯勒·希拉里在亚特兰大的庞塞市市场外告诉美国广播公司新闻。
进入2024年，希拉里表示，她希望看到政客们不要太关注特朗普面临的起诉，而是更多地关注她所说的对他们所治理的社区有更大影响的问题，指出最高法院最近推翻堕胎权利和结束大学平权行动的决定。
尽管希拉里和其他人表示，他们希望看到特朗普被追究责任，但他们质疑这是否真的会发生，并对投入他的调查的资源数量表示担忧。
“在这一点上，这个男人只是需要离开，”一位名叫凯的女士告诉美国广播公司新闻。她说，她更迫切的担忧是该地区的无家可归和犯罪问题。
凯说，在不断听说对特朗普的调查后，她现在只关注“我需要知道的事情”，并补充说，她更关注他的最终结果，而不是关注日常程序。
“让我看看棍子，”凯说。“……在我见到监狱后面的那个人之前，我真的不在乎。”
诸如此类的情绪是两党许多政客在很大程度上避免提起特朗普指控的原因。富尔顿县的一项起诉可能会让人们再次关注共和党人佐治亚州州长布赖恩·坎普(Brian Kemp)，特朗普在2020年向他施压，要求推翻选举结果，呼吁召开特别立法会议，任命支持特朗普而不是乔·拜登(Joe Biden)的新选举人。
在坎普拒绝后，特朗普公开抨击了他。
11月，肯普在富尔顿县特别大陪审团前作证，7月，特别顾问杰克·史密斯的办公室就选举调查事宜联系了州长肯普。
“感觉特朗普在和他打，但他没有还手。不管你是否同意他所说的，他只是坚持真实的自我。他一直坚持他不相信有大规模选举舞弊的事实，”金说。
今年早些时候，在共和党全国委员会的一次务虚会上，坎普敦促共和党人从2020年总统选举中继续前进。据报道，虽然坎普没有点名特朗普，但他说，“如果他们选择谈论2020年选举被盗，那么在一个摇摆州，没有一个摇摆选民会投票给我们的提名人。”来自CNN的报道.
许多佐治亚州民主党人对这个话题保持沉默，抨击特朗普在基础设施和电动汽车行业等问题上的记录，而不是专注于他的法律麻烦。
“黑人选民至关重要”的联合创始人克里夫·奥尔布赖特(Cliff Albright)告诉美国广播公司新闻(ABC News)，对大多数选民来说，他不认为特朗普的法律困境“将成为一个问题”，民主党人最好专注于未来，而不是特朗普的起诉。
“他们不想听到民主党人竞选特朗普。他们想听到的是这些高房价、住房成本、种族公正到底是怎么回事...这些都是我们想要讨论的事情。
特朗普否认有任何刑事犯罪行为，指责检察官推迟调查以“干扰”他的2024年总统竞选，并特别指责威利斯拒绝关注该县的犯罪。
如果起诉书在富尔顿县提交，海恩斯说，这将为双方提供一个公开的机会来陈述他们的论点。
“我很高兴，至少有一天在法庭上，我们可以像这样把一切都摆出来，弄清楚，你知道，法治和我们的立场。”
Georgia's Fulton County prepares for possible Trump indictment as some question impact
ATLANTA --In Georgia's Fulton County, barriers have been put up, the road in front of the county courthouse is closed and court case hearings have been encouraged to go virtual as Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis is expected to soon announce charging decisions in her investigation into formerPresident Donald Trumpand his allies' alleged efforts to overturn the 2020 election in the state.
Willisrecently signaled that her teamis "ready to go" as she prepares to present evidence to a grand jury that could decide whether to approve charges against Trump, who has already been indicted three times in the special counsel's investigation into election interference, the special counsel's classified documents probe, and the Manhattan DA's hush money case.
Trump has pleaded not guilty to all charges and has denied all wrongdoing.
Donald Trump walks to speak with reporters before boarding his plane at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport, Aug. 3, 2023, in Arlington, Va.
Alex Brandon/AP
Willis' investigation centers around Trump's Jan. 2, 2021, phone call to Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger during which Trump urged him to "find 11,780 votes" – the exact number the former president needed to win in the state.
Despite the hubbub, some in Fulton County have questioned the purpose of another indictment, voicing sentiments of a redundant political cycle that they say won't impact their vote much.
'How many times has Trump been indicted already?'
In political settings, such as a state election board meeting and county party meeting, people expressed strong opinions about the implications of another Trump indictment, whereas others walking around in parks and shopping centers were less aware of the ins and outs of Willis' investigation.
"How many times has Trump been indicted already? Why are we going after something that has no impact on Fulton County whatsoever," Julie Allen, a retired education worker, told ABC News after a state election board meeting where she spoke advocating for hand count, hand-marked paper ballots for elections.
Allen argued there were other issues she wanted county officials to focus on that she said would better serve the people of Fulton County, calling investigations into Trump "a shiny penny."
"There's a huge backlog in cases, we have issues with the jail. We need a new jail, funding for a new jail, air conditioning went out in the jail -- all of these kinds of stuff," said Allen.
"I voted for Fani Willis. I didn't vote for her to go on this rabbit trail. All the money. It's a cost to Fulton County for what? For what end? For what purpose?" Allen questioned.
District attorneys should 'chew gum and walk at the same time'
Yet still, many in Fulton County, a heavily-Democratic area where President Biden captured over 70% of the county's vote in 2020, believe Willis' investigation is imperative.
"If you break the law, especially if you break the law in my state, you deserve to be held accountable. And I'm glad that somebody is looking to hold him accountable," Duo Haynes told ABC News at a Young Democrats of Atlanta meeting.
From a young age, Haynes said his parents used to take him to the ballot box during elections, instilling a strong foundation about the significance of the democratic process. For him, Willis' investigation is "the right thing" to do to protect America's democratic values.
"When you start trying to cheat the system, find ways outside of the democratic system, democratic norms, it upsets me," he said.
Asked about the criticisms Willis has received, Haynes said it should be expected that district attorneys work on multiple cases simultaneously.
"I feel like we should want our elected officials, especially our DA and law enforcement, to chew gum and walk at the same time. If our DA office can't prosecute two crimes at the same time, she shouldn't be DA, but ... she's done a pretty decent job of holding people accountable" said Haynes.
The indictments haven't had much impact on Trump's favorability ratings. His net "favorable" rating remained relatively stable before and after the latest indictment, according toFiveThirtyEight's polling average.
Republican strategist Janelle King argued the disinterest in Trump's investigations for some stems from the fact that prosecutors haven't "successfully shared how this directly impacts people on a day-to-day basis."
King said Trump's political messaging also contributes to his rising poll numbers in the GOP primary race amid multiple indictments. Trump remains the front-runner for the Republican nomination in national polls with nearly 53% compared to his nearest opponent, Gov. Ron DeSantis, who has 14%, according toFiveThirtyEight's latest polling average.
"This isn't a Republican vs. Democrat thing. This isn't a Trump vs. Biden thing. This is the fact that where Trump has figured out how to highlight the small, and in some cases, the large distress that people have with the government," said King.
"You do have the MAGA voters that are extremely invested in the person, but then you have a lot of independent voters ... extremely invested in the fight. And I think the mistake that's being made is assuming that everyone who's supporting the president at this time is supporting the person."
Trump fatigue
If Trump is indicted in Fulton County, it would be his fourth indictment in less than six months, leaving some with Trump fatigue.
"There's a lot to keep up with, and it all just turns into one. You're not sure where, like, which problem is this at and when did this happen. It's all colliding," Skylar Hillary told ABC News outside Atlanta's Ponce City Market.
Heading into 2024, Hillary said she wanted to see politicians focus less on the indictments Trump faces, and more on issues she says have a greater impact on the communities they govern, pointing to the recent Supreme Court decisions overturning abortion rights and ending of affirmative action in colleges.
Though Hillary and others said they want to see Trump be held accountable, they questioned if it would actually happen and expressed concerns about the amount of resources going into his investigations.
"At this point, this man just needs to go away," a woman named Kay told ABC News. She said her more pressing concerns surrounded issues of homelessness and crime in the area.
Kay said after constantly hearing about investigations into Trump, she now only follows "what I need to know," adding that she's more focused on the end result for him rather than following daily proceedings.
"Let me see something stick," Kay said. "… Until I see that man behind the jail, I don't really care."
Sentiments like those are why many politicians on both sides of the aisle have largely avoided bringing up the Trump indictment. An indictment in Fulton County could put the spotlight back on Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp, a Republican, who Trump pressured in 2020 to overturn the election results, calling for a special legislative session to appoint new electors who would support Trump over Joe Biden.
After Kemp refused, Trump publicly bashed him.
In November, Kemp testified before a Fulton County special grand jury, and in July, Special Counsel Jack Smith's office contacted Gov. Kemp in relation to their election probe.
"It felt like Trump was fighting him, but he wasn't fighting back. He was just standing true in who he was whether you agree with what he was saying or not. He's been pretty consistent in the fact that he didn't believe that there was mass election fraud," King said.
Speaking at a Republican National Committee retreat earlier this year, Kemp urged Republicans to move on from the 2020 presidential election. While Kemp didn't name Trump, he said "not a single swing voter in a single swing state will vote for our nominee if they choose to talk about the 2020 election being stolen," according toreports from CNN.
Many Georgia Democrats have stayed mum on the topic, slamming Trump on his record on issues such as infrastructure and the electric vehicle industry rather than focusing on his legal troubles.
Cliff Albright, co-founder of Black Voters Matter, told ABC News that for most voters, he doesn't think Trump's legal woes are "going to be an issue" and that Democrats are best to focus on the future, instead of Trump's indictments.
"They don't want to hear Democrats running on Trump. What they want to hear is what's going on with these high prices, the cost of housing, racial justice ... those are the things that we want to talk about," Albright said.
Trump has denied any criminal wrongdoing, accusing prosecutors of delaying their investigation to "interfere" with his 2024 presidential campaign, and has specifically accused Willis of refusing to focus on crime in the county.
Should an indictment be handed up in Fulton County, Haynes said it'll provide a public opportunity for both sides to present their arguments.
"I'm glad that at least there'll be a day in court where we can like lay it all out and figure out, you know, the rule of law and where we stand."
