Donald Trump is due to report to an Atlanta jail on Thursday to face charges stemming from his effort to overturn his 2020 election loss, in the fourth criminal case to hit the former US president this year.
Like other criminal defendants in Atlanta, Trump will have to appear at the Fulton County Jail to be fingerprinted and photographed – a mug shot that is certain to be widely circulated by backers and detractors alike as he campaigns to win back the White House in a November 2024 election.
The former Republican president faces 13 felony counts including racketeering, which is typically used to target organised crime, for pressuring state officials to reverse his election loss to Democratic president Joe Biden.
Trump (77) has denied wrongdoing and attacked the case as politically motivated. He will not enter a plea at this appearance. He has agreed to post $200,000 bond and accepted bail conditions that would bar him from threatening witnesses or his 18 co-defendants in the case.
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It was unclear when Trump would arrive at the facility, which has a reputation for grim conditions that have inspired rap songs and prompted an investigation by the US department of justice.
It was also unclear how many supporters would show up in the sweltering heat to support him. Trump called for nationwide protests after his first criminal indictment in New York in March, prompting fears of violent unrest along the lines of the January 6th, 2021, attack on the US Capitol.
Authorities have reported no violent incidents outside the courthouses in Manhattan, Miami and Washington where he has been arraigned this year.
Trump’s brief jailhouse visit comes one day after his rivals for the 2024 Republican presidential nomination met in Milwaukee for their initial debate. Trump skipped that event, instead sitting for a pre-taped interview with conservative commentator Tucker Carlson on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter.
“I’ve been indicted four times – all trivial nonsense,” Trump said.
Trump’s lead in opinion polls has widened since his first indictment, and his supporters say they believe the charges are politically motivated. But analysts say Trump’s legal woes could alienate the independent voters he would need to win in a general election matchup with Biden, the incumbent who defeated him by seven million votes in 2020.
Trump, the first former US president to be charged with crimes, faces 91 separate criminal counts overall.
He has been charged in Washington, DC, over his efforts to overturn the election, in Florida over his handling of classified documents upon leaving office, and in New York over a hush money payment to a porn star.
In Georgia, Trump is accused of pressuring state officials and setting up a slate of illegitimate electors to reverse his 2020 defeat.
[ How Donald Trump’s criminal charges are defining his White House raceOpens in new window ]
Trump claims he won the 2020 election and has assailed all four cases as politically motivated. He is due to enter a plea in the Georgia case on September 5th and has pleaded not guilty in the other three cases.
Nine of Trump’s 18 co-defendants in the Georgia case, including his former lawyer Rudolph Giuliani, have surrendered to authorities. The remaining eight face a Friday deadline to comply or face arrest. – Reuters