Suspicious powder prompts evacuation in office of Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis

ATLANTA (AP) — Part of an Atlanta courthouse was evacuated on Friday after a package or letter with white powder was delivered to the office of Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis.

Firefighters determined 30 minutes after a hazardous materials response began that the powder was a starch or salt and not harmful, said Atlanta Fire Rescue Battalion Chief Ronald Slatton. The courthouse was reopened shortly afterward.

Four people who complained of headaches were taken to a hospital as a precaution and the third floor of the sprawling Fulton County courthouse complex was evacuated, according to Slatton.

Slatton said he didn’t know who the letter was addressed to, only that it arrived at the district attorney’s office. When asked about a motive, he replied, “That’s for the law enforcement.”

It’s not clear if anyone is investigating the incident as a potential crime. Officer Aaron Fix, a spokesperson for the Atlanta Police Department, referred comment back to Atlanta Fire Rescue. The Fulton County Sheriff’s Office, which oversees courthouse security, isn’t investigating, said spokesperson Natalie Ammons.

“The District Attorney and her staff greatly appreciate the quick and effective response by Atlanta and Fulton County agencies to the scene to protect our colleagues and the public,” a DA’s office spokesperson told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.

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An elected Democrat, Willis won indictments against now-President Donald Trump and 18 others in August 2023, using Georgia’s anti-racketeering law to accuse them of participating in a wide-ranging scheme to illegally try to overturn Trump’s narrow 2020 presidential election loss to Democrat Joe Biden in Georgia.

Four people later pleaded guilty, but a state appeals court in December removed Willis from the case, citing an “appearance of impropriety” related to a romantic relationship Willis had with special prosecutor Nathan Wade, whom she had hired to lead the case. Willis is asking the Georgia Supreme Court to reverse her disqualification.