Former US president Donald Trump was arrested at a Georgia jail on August 24 on charges of racketeering and conspiracy. He was released later on $200,000 bond after having a historic mug shot taken.
The former US president, accused of conspiring to overturn the 2020 presidential election results in the southern state with 18 other defendants, spent less than 30 minutes inside Atlanta's Fulton County Jail before leaving in a motorcade for the airport. The photograph at the Fulton County Jail on August 24 marks the first time Trump has been forced to have his mug shot taken. In three earlier criminal cases against him this year — in New York, Florida and Washington — authorities skipped the procedure because it wasn’t deemed necessary.
Trump's mugshot was taken during the booking process, like all other defendants in the case, including former New York mayor Rudy Giuliani, who have surrendered till date. This is a first for any serving or former US president. It also marks the first time that the former US president has been forced to have his mug shot taken.
Earlier this year, authorities in New York, Florida and Washington had skipped taking Trump's mugshot in three criminal cases against him, as it was not considered necessary.
In the mugshot, Trump, dressed in a dark blue suit, white shirt and red tie, can be seen scowling at the camera. The frontrunner for the 2024 Republican presidential nomination said that "very sad day for America", in an interaction with reporters following his arrest.
"What has taken place here is a travesty of justice," he said. "I did nothing wrong." He later shared the mug shot on his own Truth Social platform with the caption "Election Interference", along with a link to his campaign website.
It is anticipated that the 77-year-old Republican might use the image to support his claims that all charges brought against him are nothing but part of a “witch hunt” to downplay his election campaign. Trump has been selling collectible mugs on his campaign website for months, which features his fake mug shot, along with the caption “not guilty.”
The Fulton County Jail gave the inmate number "PO1135809" to Trump, listing his height as six foot three inches (1.9 meters), his weight as 215 pounds (97 kilograms), and his hair color as "Blond or Strawberry".
The former president has been criminally indicted four times since this April. With Trump trying to juggle multiple court appearances and his next White House campaign, it has been a year of unprecedented drama.
During his previous arrests early this year, Trump was able to dodge having a mugshot taken. He was arrested in New York on charges of paying hush money to a porn star, in Florida for mishandling top secret government documents, and in Washington on charges of conspiring to upend his 2020 election loss to Democrat Joe Biden.
Trump's arrest came a day after he rejected a televised debate in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, featuring eight of his rivals for the 2024 Republican presidential nomination -- all of whom lag well behind him in the polls. The former president, however, still stole the spotlight, with all but two of the candidates saying they would support him as the party's nominee even if he were a convicted felon.
Court dates in election race
At the Fulton County Jail, a tight security perimeter was established for Trump's booking. The jail is facing a probe for a slew of inmate deaths and its deplorable conditions.
Fani Willis, the Fulton County district attorney who filed the sweeping racketeering case, had set a deadline of noon on Friday for Trump and the other 18 defendants to surrender. Trump and 11 others have turned themselves in so far.
Former White House chief of staff Mark Meadows, who surrendered on August 24, was released in a bond of $100,000.
Rudy Giuliani was booked and released on August 23. Giuliani served as Trump's personal lawyer during his term at the White House and vigorously pushed the false claims that Trump had won the 2020 election.
John Eastman, a conservative lawyer, has also been booked and released later. Eastman had been arrested on charges of drawing up a scheme to submit a false slate of Trump electors to Congress from Georgia instead of the legitimate Biden ones.
A few dozen supporters of the former Republican president gathered outside the jail, including Sharon Anderson who spent the night in her car.
"I think this is a political persecution and now that's turned into a political prosecution," Anderson told AFP.
Trump is the first US president in history to face criminal charges.
If Trump's multiple trials get lined up for next year, will likely clash with the Republican presidential primary season, which kicks off in January, and the campaign for the November 2024 White House election.
Special counsel Jack Smith has proposed a January 2024 date for Trump's trial on charges of conspiring to overturn the 2020 presidential election with a lie-triggered campaign which resulted in the January 6, 2021 attack on the US Capitol by his supporters. Trump's attorneys, however, have countered with a suggestion of a start date of April 2026, which is well after the election.
The Georgia district attorney Willis had initially proposed that the racketeering case begin next March. Notably, in the same month, Trump is scheduled to go on another trial in New York on charges of paying hush money to porn star Stormy Daniels. She, however, proposed on August 24 that the trial commences this October for all 19 defendants, after one of them sought a speedy trial. Trump's lawyers immediately objected to Willis' move.
The Florida case, in which Trump is accused of taking secret government documents as he left the White House, and refusing to return them, is scheduled to begin in May.
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