Mr Donald Trump, former President of the United States of America (USA), has finally surrendered at Georgia Jail.
He surrendered on Thursday in Georgia on charges of plotting to overturn the state’s 2020 election results
Records posted on the jail’s website described Mr Trump as a white male, 6ft 3in, and weighing 215lbs (97kg), with blond or strawberry hair and blue eyes. His inmate number was P01135809.
This was historic as the arrest of Trump saw the first ever mugshot of a former president of the United States.
Mr Trump had to pay a bail bond of $200,000 (£160,000) to be released from the Atlanta jail while he awaits trial.
As reported by the BBC, the former US president afterwards described the case as “a travesty of justice”.
It was his fourth arrest in five months in a criminal case, but this was his first police booking photo.
Trump later posted on X, formerly known as Twitter, for the first time since January 2021.
He shared the address of his website and the mugshot with a caption: “Election interference. Never surrender!”
He joins the ranks of American public figures who have had arrest booking photos, including Elvis, Frank Sinatra, Al Capone and Dr Martin Luther King Jr.
Trump believed the cases against him are politically motivated because he is leading the Republican race to challenge President Joe Biden, a Democrat, in next year’s presidential election.
The first former or serving US president ever to be indicted, Trump made the round trip from New Jersey on his private jet on Thursday afternoon.
Mr Trump was whisked to Fulton County Jail by a more substantial motorcade than he has used for previous court appearances this year.
Supporters of former President Donald Trump gather outside Fulton County Jail ahead of Trump’s surrender on 24 August 2023 in Atlanta, Georgia.
He was inside the facility for around 20 minutes. Dozens of his supporters gathered outside.
Before heading home he told reporters at the airport that he was entitled to challenge the result of a vote.
“I thought the election was a rigged election, a stolen election,” said Donald Trump, who often makes unfounded claims of widespread ballot fraud in 2020. “And I should have every right to do that.
“As you know, you have many people that you’ve been watching over the years do the same thing, whether it’s Hillary Clinton or [former candidate for Georgia governor] Stacey Abrams, or many others.”
Mr Trump was charged last week alongside 18 co-defendants with meddling in Georgia’s election results following his loss to Mr Biden by fewer than 12,000 votes in that state.
The former president was heard in a phone call pressuring Georgia’s top election official to “find 11,780 votes” during the ballot count.
Among the 13 charges Trump faces are racketeering, soliciting a public official to violate his oath of office, conspiracy to impersonate a public officer, conspiracy to commit forgery and making false statements.
He denied all the counts against him.
Half of his co-accused have already been booked at Fulton County Jail in recent days ahead of Friday’s deadline.
They include former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani and former White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows.
A Georgia judge granted a speedy trial request to another co-defendant, attorney Kenneth Chesebro. His case is now due to begin on 23 October.
Just hours before turning himself in, Mr Trump replaced his leading defence lawyer, Drew Findling, with veteran Atlanta criminal defence attorney, Steven Sadow.
One of the conditions of Mr Trump’s bail release is that he refrain from any comments, on social media or otherwise, that are intended to “intimidate” witnesses or co-defendants.
He is also not allowed to have any communication with the other co-defendants, except through his lawyers.
Before arriving in Georgia, Mr Trump continued to criticise the prosecutor bringing the charges, Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis, a Democrat. He accused him of trying to sabotage his White House campaign.
Posting on his Truth Social platform, he blamed Ms Willis for murder and violent crime in Atlanta, writing that “people are afraid to go outside to buy a loaf of bread”.
•Source: BBC News
