Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis is expected to address the congregation at Atlanta’s oldest Black church this weekend, one day before Martin Luther King Jr. Day.
Willis is listed as the guest speaker for the Sunday morning service at Big Bethel AME — the historic church located in the city’s Sweet Auburn neighborhood — as part of its annual celebration honoring the legacy of the civil rights icon.
The church was formed in 1847 by a congregation of enslaved African Americans after they were prohibited from worshipping with white parishioners at Union Church, according to the Atlanta History Center. After the Civil War, the congregation joined the AME denomination and relocated to Auburn Avenue.
Credit: Bob Andres
Credit: Bob Andres
Sunday’s service is set to start at 10 a.m.
Fulton’s top prosecutor has become a household name since her decision to indict former President Donald Trump and 18 of his allies last year over their alleged efforts to overturn his 2020 election defeat in Georgia.
A bombshell motion filed Monday accuses Willis of improperly hiring an alleged romantic partner to help prosecute Trump, and says she benefitted financially from that relationship. The court filing alleges that special prosecutor Nathan Wade, a private attorney, paid for lavish vacations he took with Willis using the Fulton County funds his law firm received.
County records show that Wade, who has played a prominent role in the election interference case, has been paid nearly $654,000 in legal fees since January 2022. The DA authorizes his compensation.
The motion was filed on behalf of defendant Michael Roman, a former Trump campaign official. It seeks to have the charges against Roman dismissed and for Willis, Wade and the entire DA’s office to be disqualified from further prosecution of the case.
A spokeswoman for Willis said the DA’s office will respond to Roman’s allegations “through appropriate court filings.”
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