Trump Arrested in Georgia on Racketeering Charges, Historic Mug Shot Taken
Former US president Donald Trump was detained on Thursday in a Georgia jail on charges of racketeering and conspiracy and released on a $200,000 bond after a historic mugshot was taken.
Trump, who is accused of conspiring with 18 other defendants to overturn the 2020 election outcome in a southern state, spent less than 30 minutes in Atlanta’s Fulton County Jail before being driven to the airport in a motorcade.
As with the other defendants in the case who have surrendered thus far, the 77-year-old Trump had his mugshot taken during the booking procedure — a first for any sitting or former president of the United States.
In the sheriff’s office photograph, he scowled at the camera while wearing a dark blue suit, white blouse, and red tie.
Trump, the frontrunner for the Republican presidential nomination in 2024, told reporters after his arrest that it was a “very sad day for America.”
He stated, “What has occurred here is a travesty of justice.” “I did nothing wrong.”
Trump uploaded the mugshot to Truth Social with the caption “Election Interference” and a link to his campaign’s website.
Shortly thereafter, he also posted it on X — formerly Twitter, which was Trump’s favored bullhorn until he was banned from it on January 6, 2021, following an uprising by his supporters at the US Capitol.
In November of last year, new proprietor Elon Musk reinstated Trump on X, but Trump remained absent and instead posted on Truth Social. This was Trump’s first post to what had been Twitter since 2021.
The Fulton County Jail assigned Trump the inmate number “PO1135809” and listed his height as six feet three inches (1.9 meters), weight as 215 pounds (97 kilograms), and hair color as “Blonde or Strawberry.”
Since April, the billionaire has been indicted four times, setting the stage for a year of unprecedented drama as he attempts to coordinate multiple court appearances and a new White House campaign.
During his previous arrests this year, Trump was able to avoid having a mugshot taken: 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 overturn his 2020 election loss to Democrat Joe Biden.
His arrest occurred one day after he declined to participate in a televised debate in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, with eight of his rivals for the 2024 Republican presidential nomination — all of whom trail him significantly in the surveys.
Even if he were a convicted felon, he still stole the show, as all but two candidates said they would support him as the party’s nominee.
Court dates in the campaign
Trump’s booking at the Fulton County Jail, which is under investigation for numerous inmate fatalities and deplorable conditions, was accompanied by a stringent security perimeter.
Friday at midday was the deadline that Fani Willis, the Fulton County district attorney who filed the expansive racketeering case, had set for Trump and the other 18 defendants to surrender.
Trump and eleven others have surrendered thus far.
Mark Meadows, the former chief of staff of the White House, turned himself in on Thursday and was released on $100,000 bond.
Former New York City mayor Rudy Giuliani, who served as Trump’s personal attorney during his time in the White House and vigorously promoted false claims that Trump had won the 2020 presidential election, was booked and released on Wednesday.
John Eastman, a conservative attorney who is accused of devising a conspiracy to submit a false slate of Trump electors from Georgia to Congress instead of the legitimate Biden electors, was also booked and released.
A few dozen supporters of the former Republican president gathered outside of the jail, including Sharon Anderson, who slept in her vehicle overnight.
Anderson told AFP, “I believe this is a political persecution that has evolved into a political prosecution.”
Trump is the first president in US history to be charged with a crime.
If his numerous trials occur next year, they may overlap with the Republican presidential primary season, which begins in January, and the 2024 presidential election campaign.
Special counsel Jack Smith has proposed a trial date of January 2024 for Trump on charges of conspiring to overturn the last election with a lie-fueled campaign that culminated in an attack on the US Capitol on January 6, 2021, by his supporters.
Trump’s attorneys have countered with a proposed commencement date of April 2026, well after the election.
Willis, the Georgia district attorney, initially proposed that the racketeering case commence in March 2019, the same month Trump is scheduled to stand trial in New York on charges of paying Stormy Daniels hush money.
Thursday, after one of the defendants requested a speedy trial, she proposed that it commence for all 19 defendants in October of this year, which was immediately opposed by Trump’s attorneys.
Trump is accused of taking secret government documents with him when he left the White House and refusing to return them. The Florida case is scheduled to commence in May.
Trump Arrested in Georgia on Racketeering Charges, Historic Mug Shot Taken