ATLANTA — Former President Donald Trump is set to speak at the Georgia Republican Party convention in Columbus next month, GOP officials told 11Alive Wednesday.
Trump will headline the convention's slate of speakers on Saturday, June 10 — the former president's first event in the state since launching his 2024 White House bid.
"This is the first time in our history that we will be joined at our state convention by a President and you will not want to miss it," state party chairman David Shafer told supporters in an email obtained by 11Alive.
Several high-profile Georgia Republicans, including Gov. Brian Kemp, have said they will not attend next month's convention. The Georgia GOP 2023 state convention will be held June 9 and 10.
The event comes as Trump and several of his allies could be indicted for criminal interference in Georgia's 2020 election.
A special purpose grand jury tasked with investigating the matter completed its work in January 2023. Jurors heard from 75 witnesses and completed a final report that recommended indictments for more than a dozen people, jury foreperson Emily Kohrs told media outlets earlier this year.
Much of that report and its exact indictment recommendations remain a secret. To seek indictments, Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis must take the cases to a regular grand jury.
Willis told 11Alive that July 17 is the earliest a jury could hear evidence related to the 2020 election investigation. Potential indictments for Trump and his allies would come before Sept. 1, Willis told Atlanta law enforcement agencies.