The Fulton County Sheriff has given the all-clear after an investigation into a suspicious package shut down an area around the Fulton County Courthouse for hours on Monday morning.
The Fulton County Courthouse and the Fulton County Government Center are both closed. No one is allowed in or out of the Justice Center Complex as a precaution.
“Deputies called bomb technicians and requested assistance from the Atlanta Police Department to investigate an abandoned bag, located near a parking deck at Martin Luther King, Jr. Drive and Pryor Street,” Sheriff Patrick Labat said.
There was heavy police activity downtown as police worked to clear the scene after the initial call about a suspicious suitcase came in around 7:30 a.m. Police probed the bag with a bomb-disposal robot before removing it around 10:30 a.m.
The massive police response was directly related to security concerns surrounding the Fulton County District Attorney’s probe into former President Trump. Last week, Fani Willis asked the Federal Bureau of Investigation for backup as her office prepares to empanel a grand jury to investigate whether former President Trump committed a crime when he tried to overturn the results of the 2020 election in Georgia.
At a rally last week, Trump slammed Willis’ office and encouraged supporters to protest the investigation. Willis has received a number of threats and has increased security in the last few weeks ahead of the grand jury, which convenes in May.
A four or five block radius around the Fulton County courthouse complex was shut down and people were asked to shelter in place while police investigated. The roads have since reopened to foot traffic, but not to vehicles.
“Thank you to all of our justice partners, including the law enforcement partners and the FBI, who assisted with the thorough investigation of this matter,” Labat said.