Former US President Donald Trump faced arrest at a Georgia jail on charges of racketeering and conspiracy. The allegations stemmed from his alleged efforts to overturn the 2020 election results in the state of Georgia.
In a session lasting less than 30 minutes, law enforcement officials booked the 77-year-old Trump on 13 charges at Atlanta’s Fulton County Jail.
While several other defendants in the same racketeering case had their mugshots taken after surrendering to Georgia authorities, Trump had managed to evade this step in his previous arrests earlier in the year.
These prior arrests included charges in New York related to payments to an adult film star, in Florida for mishandling classified government documents, and in Washington for allegations connected to conspiring against his 2020 election loss to Democrat Joe Biden.
However, the situation took a different turn this time as Fulton County Sheriff Pat Labat explained that it was standard procedure in Georgia to photograph defendants before their release on bond. For Trump, the bond was set at $200,000.
The arrest transpired a day after Trump declined participation in a televised debate in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, where eight of his rivals vying for the 2024 Republican presidential nomination had gathered. Despite their positions in the polls, all candidates except two indicated their readiness to endorse Trump as the party’s nominee, even in the event of his conviction for a felony.
Trump brushed aside the criminal cases against him, labeling them as “nonsense.”Trump went on to accuse President Biden of “weaponizing” the Justice Department to impede his quest for the White House.
Donald Trump _ the first ex-US president criminally charged
Amid an ongoing investigation into a series of inmate deaths and deplorable conditions at the Fulton County Jail, authorities established a strict security perimeter for Trump’s booking at the facility.
Fani Willis, the Fulton County district attorney who lodged the extensive racketeering case, imposed a deadline of noon (1600 GMT) on Friday for Trump and the other 18 defendants to surrender. Presently, Trump and 11 others have complied with this demand.
Former White House chief of staff Mark Meadows surrendered on Thursday and subsequently posted a $100,000 bond to secure his release.
On Wednesday, authorities booked and subsequently released Rudy Giuliani, the former New York mayor who served as Trump’s personal attorney during his tenure in the White House and vigorously propagated the unfounded assertions of Trump’s triumph in the 2020 election.
Likewise, John Eastman, a conservative lawyer accused of devising a plan to submit an inaccurate slate of Donald Trump electors to Congress from Georgia instead of the authentic Biden electors, underwent booking and subsequent release.
Several dozen supporters outside the jail
Meanwhile, several dozen supporters of the former Republican president congregated outside the jail, with Sharon Anderson, who spent the night in her car, expressing her views. Anderson believes, “I think this is evolving from political persecution into a political prosecution.”
Trump holds the distinction of being the first US president to face criminal charges. The timing of his potential trials next year may overlap with the Republican presidential primary season, commencing in January, as well as the campaign leading up to the November 2024 White House election.
Special counsel Jack Smith has proposed a trial commencement date for Trump in January 2024. The charges pertain to allegations of conspiring to overturn the previous election through a campaign fueled by falsehoods, culminating in the January 6, 2021 assault on the US Capitol by his supporters. Trump’s legal team, in contrast, has suggested a trial start date well after the election, specifically April 2026.
Initially, Willis, the district attorney for Georgia, suggested that the racketeering case begin in March of the following year, coinciding with Trump’s scheduled trial in New York on charges of making hush payments to an adult film star. However, on Thursday, following a defendant’s request for an expedited trial, she proposed an October 2023 start date for all 19 defendants. This proposition was promptly challenged by Trump’s legal representatives.
Meanwhile, the case in Florida is gearing up to prosecute Donald Trump for allegedly taking possession of classified government documents as he departed the White House, and subsequently declining to relinquish them. The trial is scheduled to commence in May.
