The first federal indictment a president in U.S. history is just one of serval significant developments shaping the two-day convention, which has split Georgia Republicans.

Attendees are seen at the Georgia GOP convention in Columbus on Friday, June 9, 2023. (Arvin Temkar / arvin.temkar@ajc.com)

• The Columbus convention will feature Trump allies who continue to echo his disproven claims of 2020 election fraud and amplify his criticism of criminal investigations against him in Atlanta, New York and Washington.
• Fulton prosecutors examining whether Trump and others at the convention criminally interfered in Georgia’s 2020 elections will be watching the former president’s speech for any inadvertent disclosures.
• The former president’s expected visit to Columbus highlights the divide between the party apparatus and Gov. Brian Kemp, who is boycotting the event and has pushed the GOP to move on from Trump’s polarizing presidency.
• The growing political clout of far-right activists is a microcosm of the battle for the soul of the national party. Some in Georgia are pushing a proposal to punish perceived “traitors” by blocking them from running as Republicans in the future.
• The three-way race to succeed party chair David Shafer features a trio of contenders promising to repair the internal fissures that are dividing the party.