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Donald Trump was not at a loss for words Monday night after Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis, the first Black woman to serve in the position, became the latest prosecutor to indict the former president.
“So, the Witch Hunt continues! 19 people indicated tonight, including the former President of the United States, me, by an out of control and very corrupt District Attorney,” the former president posted Monday evening on his social media platform Truth Social.
Willis is spearheading the investigation that led to a Georgia grand jury indicting the 2024 presidential candidate and more than a dozen of his allies on charges of conspiracy to try to overturn the election results in Georgia. She is the most recent example of a Black judge, district attorney or prosecutor bearing the brunt of Trump’s verbal attacks that are often interlaced with racial undertones.
Trump has used words like “racist” and “criminal” to describe Black prosecutors like New York Attorney General Letitia James, who sued Trump and his family-run business on charges of fraud last September, and Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg, who charged Trump with falsifying business records in connection with hush money payments to an adult film actress.
“He consistently refers to any prosecutor that is investigating him or bringing charges against him who happens to be Black, he refers to that person as racist,” Clark Cunningham, a law professor at Georgia State University, told USA TODAY.Fulton County DA Willis becomes latest target
A week before Trump was struck with a fourth indictment − this time out of Georgia − the former president telegraphed a familiar offensive against the investigation’s lead prosecutor.
A 60-second spot by the Trump campaign called Willis the “newest lackey” for President Joe Biden and national Democrats. It also blames Willis for Atlanta’s crime rate, which is an attack often lobbed by Trump and his allies against prosecutors.
But the TV ad went further by asserting Willis “got caught hiding a relationship with a gang member she was prosecuting.”
It’s a claim she has vehemently denied, and one that is easily debunked by fact-checkers. But it represents a troubling escalation, according to civil rights leaders, who point to a pattern of racially fueled attacks against Black officials in the U.S. legal justice system.
“Trump’s pattern is to attack the prosecutors, particularly the prosecutors and judges of color,” Marc Morial, president and chief executive officer of the National Urban League, told USA TODAY.
