Former US president Donald Trump presented himself for criminal processing at an Atlanta, Georgia jail on Thursday evening, after having been indicted in Fulton County on more than a dozen felony counts as part of a vast criminal racketeering attempt involving more than 30 people to overcome his 2020 presidential election defeat in the state of Georgia, reported Reuters.
Trump spent less than 20 minutes at the jail and, despite this being the fourth of separate criminal indictments in New York, Florida, and Washington DC, had his mug shot taken for the first time. Such indictments of a president or former president are unprecedented in the history of the US.
Under a deal negotiated by his lawyers, Trump agreed to a $200,000 bond and accepted bail conditions that included prohibiting him from intimidating any witnesses or his co-defendants in the Georgia case in any way, including in social media posts by him or by reposting others.
According to Fulton County Jail records, his mug shot shows an unsmiling Trump — inmate no. P01135809 — frowning at the camera.
Trump, the Republican 2024 presidential candidate front runner, and his campaign lost no time in spinning his criminal booking, posting the mugshot on X, the site formerly known as Twitter, as well as on his own social media site, called “Truth Social.” His campaign website now includes the mug shot along with a statement from Trump supposedly justifying his actions and appealing to his supporters to donate.
After being criminally booked, Trump returned to his New Jersey golf resort. Before boarding his private jet at Atlanta’s Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport, he reiterated his claim that the Fulton County prosecution, like the other three he faces, is “politically motivated.”
Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis has asserted that Trump is being treated just like any other criminal defendant according to the facts and the law.
Trump, 77, is the first former US president ever to face criminal charges, even as he prepares to run for president again next year. Although he had previously called for massive protests to any indictment, only a few dozen supporters, carrying Trump banners and American flags, showed up as Trump arrived at the Atlanta jail. Among those outside the jail were Georgia U.S. Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene, one of the former president’s loudest, loyal supporters.