Trump surrenders, takes mug shot at Atlanta jail over election charges

ATLANTA - Donald Trump left an Atlanta jail after he was booked on more than a dozen felony charges on Thursday (Aug 24) , as part of a wide-ranging criminal case stemming from the former US president's attempts to overturn his 2020 election defeat in Georgia.

Trump - inmate no. P01135809, according to Fulton County Jail records - spent about 20 minutes inside the jailhouse, where his mug shot was taken.

The photograph, released by the Fulton County Sheriff's Office, shows Trump, wearing a blue suit and red tie, with a scowl on his face.

That represents a first for Trump, who did not have to sit for a photograph when answering charges in his three other criminal cases.

Before boarding his private plane at Atlanta's Hartsfield-Jackson airport after the booking, Trump repeated his claim that the prosecution - along with prosecutors in the other indictments he faces - is politically motivated.

"What has taken place here is a travesty of justice," he told reporters. "I did nothing wrong, and everybody knows it."

Dozens of supporters, waving Trump banners and American flags, jostled for a glimpse as Trump arrived at the jail. Among them was Georgia US Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene, one of his most prominent backers in Congress.

Mr Lyle Rayworth, 49, who is in the aviation industry in the Atlanta area, had been waiting near the jailhouse for 10 hours, since early on Thursday.

"Yeah, I'm hoping he sees me waving the flags, showing support," Mr Rayworth said as he awaited Trump's arrival. "He needs us."

Trump, 77, already has entered uncharted territory as the first former US president to face criminal charges, though the four cases filed against him have not slowed his momentum as the front-runner in the race for the Republican nomination to run against Democratic President Joe Biden in next year's election.

The mug shot, which was not immediately made available, adds Trump to the ranks of gangster Al Capone, crooner Frank Sinatra and other high-profile Americans who have posed for jailhouse photographs.

The image is certain to be circulated widely by Trump's foes and supporters alike.

"We want to put it on a T-shirt. It will go worldwide. It will be a more popular image than the Mona Lisa," said Ms Laura Loomer, 30, a Republican former congressional candidate who mingled with other Trump supporters outside the jail on Thursday morning.

Earlier in the day, Judge Scott McAfee set a trial date of Oct 23 for one of the defendants, attorney Kenneth Chesebro, after Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis, who brought the charges against Trump and the others, had proposed that date. That trial date will not necessarily apply to Trump or the other 17 defendants.

One of the most recognisable people in the world, Trump has not had to submit to a photo in the other three cases. But fake mug shots have circulated online since shortly after he was first indicted in Manhattan in March on charges involving hush money paid to a porn star ahead of the 2016 election.

At least 10 of his co-defendants already have been booked. Rudolph Giuliani, the former New York mayor, was stone-faced in his mug shot while lawyer Jenna Ellis smiled.

All 19 defendants face a Friday deadline to surrender. Court records showed that Mark Meadows, who served as Trump's White House chief of staff, was booked on Thursday.

Trump faces 13 felony counts in the Georgia case, including racketeering, which is typically used to target organised crime, for pressuring state officials to reverse his election loss and setting up an illegitimate slate of electors to undermine the formal congressional certification of Mr Biden's victory.

Trial date wrangling

Mr Willis originally proposed a trial date of March 4, but moved it up after Chesebro asked that his trial start by October. Trump's legal team has not yet proposed a date, but is expected to push for a much later start. On Thursday, his newly named lawyer Steven Sadow asked for Trump to be tried separately from Chesebro.

Trump is due to enter a plea on Sept 5 and has pleaded not guilty in the three other cases. He has denied wrongdoing and has called all the cases politically motivated.

In addition to the New York state charges brought by Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg, Trump faces two sets of federal charges brought by Special Counsel Jack Smith - one case in Washington involving election interference and one in Miami involving classified documents he retained after leaving office in 2021. He faces 91 criminal counts in total.

Trump has agreed to post US$200,000 (S$270,000) bond and accepted bail conditions that would bar him from threatening witnesses or his 18 co-defendants in the Georgia case.

Republicans who control the US House of Representatives said on Thursday they would investigate whether Willis improperly coordinated with federal prosecutors. They previously launched an investigation of Mr Bragg, who accused them of a "campaign of intimidation".

Trump's jailhouse visit comes a day after his rivals in the race for the 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.

"I've been indicted four times - all trivial nonsense," Trump said.

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