A serious Trump inmate #P01135809 was captured in the mug shot staring at the camera, according to Fulton County Jail records. The picture represented another extraordinary moment for Trump, who did not have to submit to a photo in his three other criminal cases
Reuters
Aug 25, 2023 at 8:25 am
Last modified: 25 Aug 2023 at 08:39
Former US President Donald Trump appears in a mugshot released by the Fulton County Sheriff’s Office after a grand jury returned indictments against him and 18 of his allies for attempting to change the state’s 2020 election results in Atlanta, Georgia, U.S. , August 24, 2023. Fulton County Sheriff’s Office/Handout via REUTERS
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Former US President Donald Trump appears in a mugshot released by the Fulton County Sheriff’s Office after a grand jury returned indictments against him and 18 of his allies for attempting to change the state’s 2020 election results in Atlanta, Georgia, U.S. , August 24, 2023. Fulton County Sheriff’s Office/Handout via REUTERS
Donald Trump’s mugshot was released Thursday night after he was being held in an Atlanta jail on more than a dozen felonies as part of a wide-ranging criminal investigation related to the former US president’s attempts to overturn his Georgia election defeat in 2020 .
A serious Trump inmate #P01135809 was captured in the mugshot staring at the camera, according to Fulton County Jail records. The picture represented another extraordinary moment for Trump, who did not have to submit to a photo in his three other criminal cases.
Trump only spent about 20 minutes in jail before returning to his golf club in New Jersey. Before boarding his private plane at Atlanta’s Hartsfield Jackson Airport, he reiterated his claim that the prosecution – like the others he faces – is politically motivated.
“What happened here is a travesty of justice,” he told reporters. “I didn’t do anything wrong, and everyone knows it.”
Trump, 77, is already breaking new ground as the first former US president to be prosecuted, even as he launches another campaign for the White House next year.
Far from harming his candidacy for the Republican Party nomination, the four lawsuits filed against him have only boosted his standing. In the Republican race to challenge Democratic President Joe Biden in the November 2024 election, he is clearly ahead in the polls.
Dozens of supporters waved Trump banners and American flags and crowded for a look as Trump arrived at jail. Among the Trump supporters gathered outside was Georgia US Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene, one of the former president’s staunchest allies in Congress.
Lyle Rayworth, 49, who works in the Atlanta-area airline industry, has been waiting near the jail for 10 hours since early Thursday.
“Yes, I hope he sees me waving the flags showing my support,” Rayworth said while awaiting Trump’s arrival. “He needs us.”
The image will surely be shared widely among both Trump’s enemies and Trump supporters.
“A MORE POPULAR IMAGE THAN THE MONA LISA”
“We want to put it on a t-shirt. It will be known worldwide. It’s going to be a more popular image than the Mona Lisa,” said Laura Loomer, 30, a former Republican congressional candidate who mingled with other Trump supporters outside of jail Thursday morning.
Judge Scott McAfee set the trial date for one of Trump’s 18 co-defendants, attorney Kenneth Chesebro, for Oct. 23 after Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis suggested the date in response to Chesebro’s request for a speedy trial. The judge’s order said the timeline does not yet apply to Trump or any of the other defendants.
According to the authorities, eleven of his co-defendants have already been charged. Some, like Rudolph Giuliani, the former New York Mayor, were petrified in their mug shots, while others, like attorney Jenna Ellis, smiled for the camera.
All 19 accused faced a deadline for surrender on Friday. Court documents showed that Mark Meadows, who served as Trump’s White House chief of staff, was tried in jail on Thursday.
The prison is known for its grim conditions, which have inspired rap songs and led to an investigation by the US Department of Justice.
Trump faces 13 felonies in the Georgia case, including racketeering, typically used against organized crime, for pressuring state officials to reverse his election defeat and for compiling an illegitimate voter roll to formally confirm the election Congress on Biden’s 2020 victory.
Dispute about the trial date
Willis originally proposed a March 4 trial date, but pushed it back for Chesebro after requesting that his trial begin in October. Trump’s legal team has not yet suggested a date, but is likely to push for a much later start. On Thursday, his new Atlanta attorney, Steven Sadow, called for Trump to be tried separately from Chesebro.
In the three other counts, Trump pleaded not guilty and denied any wrongdoing. In the Georgia case, Willis has requested that arraignments begin the week of September 5, even though Georgia defendants are permitted to refrain from making those appearances and plead not guilty by court order.
Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg filed the first case, accusing Trump of falsifying business records to hide hush money payments to a porn star who claims to have had a sexual encounter with him years ago.
Trump also faces two federal charges brought by Special Counsel Jack Smith — one in Washington for election interference and one in Miami for classified documents he kept after leaving office in 2021. He has to face a total of 91 criminal proceedings.
Trump agreed to post $200,000 bail and accepted bail terms that would prohibit him from threatening witnesses or his co-defendants in the Georgia case.
Republicans who control the US House of Representatives said Thursday they would investigate whether Willis failed to properly coordinate with federal prosecutors. They had previously launched an investigation into Bragg, who accused them of an “intimidation campaign.”
On Wednesday, Trump’s leading rivals in the Republican presidential race met in Milwaukee for their first debate. Trump skipped that event and instead attended a pre-taped interview with conservative commentator Tucker Carlson to poach viewers.
“I’ve been charged four times — all trivial nonsense,” Trump told Carlson.
