Trump surrenders at Atlanta jail on charges he tried to overturn his 2020 election loss
By malls on August 24, 2023
By ERIC TUCKER, KATE BRUMBACK and JILL COLVIN
ATLANTA — Former President Donald Trump arrived Thursday at a jail in Atlanta to surrender on charges that he illegally schemed to overturn the 2020 election in Georgia, a county jail booking expected to yield a historic first: a mug shot of a former American president.
Trump’s surrender to law enforcement authorities has become by now a familiar election-season routine in a way that belies the unprecedented spectacle of a former president being booked, in four different cities, on felony criminal charges.
But his visit to Atlanta is notably different than the three past surrenders, unfolding at night rather than requiring him to visit a problem-plagued jail — rather than a courthouse — and unfolding not in a liberal bastion like New York or Washington but rather in the heart of a battleground state vital to the 2024 presidential election. And unlike in other cities that did not require him to pose for a mug shot, Fulton County officials have said they expect to take a booking photo as they would any other defendant.
Trump landed in Atlanta shortly after 7 p.m. and was to be driven, through the city’s rush-hour traffic, to jail for the booking process. Wearing his signature white shirt and red tie, he offered a wave and thumbs up as he descended the steps of his private plane.
Former President Donald Trump steps off his plane as he arrives at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport, Thursday, Aug. 24, 2023, in Atlanta. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)
Former President Donald Trump steps off his plane as he arrives at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport, Thursday, Aug. 24, 2023, in Atlanta. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)
Former President Donald Trump steps off his plane as he arrives at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport, Thursday, Aug. 24, 2023, in Atlanta. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)
Former President Donald Trump steps off his plane as he arrives at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport, Thursday, Aug. 24, 2023, in Atlanta. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)
Former President Donald Trump steps off his plane as he arrives at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport, Thursday, Aug. 24, 2023, in Atlanta. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)
Former President Donald Trump steps off his plane as he arrives at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport, Thursday, Aug. 24, 2023, in Atlanta. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)
The plane carrying former President Donald Trump taxis at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport, Thursday, Aug. 24, 2023, in Atlanta. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)
The plane carrying former President Donald Trump taxis at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport, Thursday, Aug. 24, 2023, in Atlanta. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)
Former President Donald Trump steps off his plane as he arrives at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport, Thursday, Aug. 24, 2023, in Atlanta. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)
Former President Donald Trump’s plane prepares to take off from Newark Liberty International Airport in Newark, N.J., Thursday, Aug. 24, 2023. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)
A police officers stands in the road as a motorcade for former President Donald Trump arrives to Newark Liberty International Airport in Newark, N.J., Thursday, Aug. 24, 2023. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)
Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Ga., cheers supporters of former President Donald Trump as she walks out of the Fulton County Jail parking lot in Atlanta on Thursday, Aug. 24, 2023. (AP Photo/Ben Gray)
Officials set up barriers in front of the Fulton County jail as supporters of former President Donald Trump gather, Thursday, Aug. 24, 2023. (AP Photo/Ben Gray)
The motorcade with former President Donald Trump travels to the Fulton County Jail, Thursday, Aug. 24, 2023, in Atlanta. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)
The motorcade with former President Donald Trump travels to the Fulton County Jail, Thursday, Aug. 24, 2023, in Atlanta. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)
The motorcade with former President Donald Trump travels to the Fulton County Jail, Thursday, Aug. 24, 2023, in Atlanta. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)
The motorcade with former President Donald Trump travels to the Fulton County Jail, Thursday, Aug. 24, 2023, in Atlanta. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)
A supporter of former President Donald Trump stands outside of the Fulton County Jail, Thursday, Aug. 24, 2023, in Atlanta. (AP Photo/Brynn Anderson)
Supporters of former President Donald Trump gather outside of the Fulton County Jail, Thursday, Aug. 24, 2023, in Atlanta. (AP Photo/Brynn Anderson)
Supporters of former President Donald Trump rest near the Fulton County Jail in Atlanta on Thursday, Aug. 24, 2023. (AP Photo/Ben Gray)
Supporters of former President Donald Trump rest near the Fulton County Jail in Atlanta on Thursday, Aug. 24, 2023. (AP Photo/Ben Gray)
Supporters of former President Donald Trump gather outside of the Fulton County Jail, Thursday, Aug. 24, 2023, in Atlanta. (AP Photo/Brynn Anderson)
Supporters of former President Donald Trump gather outside of the Fulton County Jail, Thursday, Aug. 24, 2023, in Atlanta. (AP Photo/Brynn Anderson)
A vehicle and trailer drive by the Fulton County Jail, Thursday, Aug. 24, 2023, in Atlanta. Trump is charged alongside others, who are accused by Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis of scheming to subvert the will of Georgia voters to keep the Republican president in the White House after he lost to Democrat Joe Biden. (AP Photo/Mike Stewart)
People watch as the motorcade with former President Donald Trump travels to the Fulton County Jail, Thursday, Aug. 24, 2023, in Atlanta. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)
People watch as the motorcade with former President Donald Trump travels to the Fulton County Jail, Thursday, Aug. 24, 2023, in Atlanta. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)
Bing Vo of Orlando, Fla., looks up at a pro-Trump banner near the Fulton County Jail in Atlanta on Thursday, Aug. 24, 2023. (AP Photo/Ben Gray)
This booking photo provided by the Fulton County Sheriff’s Office shows Harrison Floyd on Thursday, Aug. 24, 2023, in Atlanta, after he surrendered and was booked. Floyd is charged alongside former President Donald Trump and 17 others, who are accused by Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis of scheming to subvert the will of Georgia voters to keep the Republican president in the White House after he lost to Democrat Joe Biden. (Fulton County Sheriff’s Office via AP)
This booking photo provided by the Fulton County Sheriff’s Office shows Mark Meadows on Thursday, Aug. 24, 2023, in Atlanta, after he surrendered and was booked. Meadows is charged alongside former President Donald Trump and 17 others, who are accused by Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis of scheming to subvert the will of Georgia voters to keep the Republican president in the White House after he lost to Democrat Joe Biden. (Fulton County Sheriff’s Office via AP)
Laurie Arbeiter came from New York City to be at the Fulton County Jail in Atlanta on Thursday, Aug. 24, 2023. Dozens of Trump supporters gathered outside the jail where former President Donald Trump is expected to turn himself in on charges related to his efforts to remain in power after his 2020 election loss. (AP Photo/Ben Gray)
This booking photo provided by the Fulton County Sheriff’s Office shows Jenna Ellis on Wednesday, Aug. 23, 2023, in Atlanta, after she surrendered and was booked. Ellis is charged alongside former President Donald Trump and 17 others, who are accused by Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis of scheming to subvert the will of Georgia voters to keep the Republican president in the White House after he lost to Democrat Joe Biden. (Fulton County Sheriff’s Office via AP)
This booking photo provided by the Fulton County Sheriff’s Office shows Sidney Powell on Wednesday, Aug. 23, 2023, in Atlanta, after she surrendered and was booked. Powell is charged alongside former President Donald Trump and 17 others, who are accused by Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis of scheming to subvert the will of Georgia voters to keep the Republican president in the White House after he lost to Democrat Joe Biden. (Fulton County Sheriff’s Office via AP)
This booking photo provided by the Fulton County Sheriff’s Office shows Rudy Giuliani on Wednesday, Aug. 23, 2023, in Atlanta, after he surrendered and was booked. Giuliani is charged alongside former President Donald Trump and 17 others, who are accused by Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis of scheming to subvert the will of Georgia voters to keep the Republican president in the White House after he lost to Democrat Joe Biden. (Fulton County Sheriff’s Office via AP)
This booking photo provided by the Fulton County Sheriff’s Office shows David Shafer on Wednesday, Aug. 23, 2023, in Atlanta, after he surrendered and was booked. Shafer is charged alongside former President Donald Trump and 17 others, who are accused by Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis of scheming to subvert the will of Georgia voters to keep the Republican president in the White House after he lost to Democrat Joe Biden. (Fulton County Sheriff’s Office via AP)
This booking photo provided by the Fulton County Sheriff’s Office shows Cathleen Latham on Wednesday, Aug. 23, 2023, in Atlanta, after she surrendered and was booked. Latham is charged alongside former President Donald Trump and 17 others, who are accused by Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis of scheming to subvert the will of Georgia voters to keep the Republican president in the White House after he lost to Democrat Joe Biden. (Fulton County Sheriff’s Office via AP)
This booking photo provided by the Fulton County Sheriff’s Office shows Ray Smith on Wednesday, Aug. 23, 2023, in Atlanta, after he surrendered and was booked. Smith is charged alongside former President Donald Trump and 17 others, who are accused by Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis of scheming to subvert the will of Georgia voters to keep the Republican president in the White House after he lost to Democrat Joe Biden. (Fulton County Sheriff’s Office via AP)
This booking photo provided by the Fulton County Sheriff’s Office shows Kenneth Chesebro on Wednesday, Aug. 23, 2023, in Atlanta, after he surrendered and was booked. Chesebro is charged alongside former President Donald Trump and 17 others, who are accused by Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis of scheming to subvert the will of Georgia voters to keep the Republican president in the White House after he lost to Democrat Joe Biden. (Fulton County Sheriff’s Office via AP)
This booking photo provided by the Fulton County Sheriff’s Office shows John Eastman on Tuesday, Aug. 22, 2023, in Atlanta, after he surrendered and was booked. Eastman is charged alongside former President Donald Trump and 17 others, who are accused by Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis of scheming to subvert the will of Georgia voters to keep the Republican president in the White House after he lost to Democrat Joe Biden. (Fulton County Sheriff’s Office via AP)
This booking photo provided by the Fulton County Sheriff’s Office shows Scott Hall on Tuesday, Aug. 22, 2023. The bail bondsman, who was accused of participating in a breach of election equipment in rural Coffee County, Ga., turned himself in to the Fulton County Jail on Tuesday. Hall is charged alongside former President Donald Trump and 17 others, who are accused by Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis of scheming to subvert the will of Georgia voters to keep the Republican president in the White House after he lost to Democrat Joe Biden. (Fulton County Sheriff’s Office via AP)
The Fulton County prosecution is the fourth criminal case against Trump since March, when he became the first former president in U.S. history to be indicted. Since then, he’s faced federal charges in Florida and Washington, and this month he was indicted in Atlanta with 18 others — including his ex-chief of staff, Mark Meadows, and former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani — under a racketeering statute normally associated with gang members and organized crime.
Giuliani surrendered on Wednesday and posed for a mug shot. Meadows, who had sought to avoid having to turn himself in while he seeks to move the case to federal court, turned himself in Thursday. Bond was set at $100,000.
The criminal cases have spurred a succession of bookings and arraignments, with Trump making brief court appearances before returning to the 2024 campaign trail. He’s turned the appearances into campaign events amid a far lighter schedule than his rivals, with staff delighting in wall-to-wall media coverage that has included news helicopters tracking his every move.
The campaign has also used the appearances to solicit fundraising contributions from his supporters as aides paint the charges as part of a politically motivated effort to damage his reelection chances. As Trump was en route from New Jersey to Atlanta, his campaign sent a message saying, “I’m writing to you from Trump Force One, on my way to Atlanta where I will be ARRESTED despite having committed NO CRIME.”
As afternoon turned to evening, scores of Trump supporters had gathered outside the jail where the ex-president was to surrender, some waving flags with Trump’s name, as officials tightened security measures.
District Attorney Fani Willis has given all of the defendants until Friday afternoon to turn themselves in at the main Fulton County jail. On Thursday, her office proposed an October 23 trial date, though the complexities of the 19-person case — and potential scheduling conflicts with other Trump prosecutions — would appear to make it all but impossible. The date seemed to be a response to early legal maneuvering by at least one defendant, Kenneth Chesebro, who requested a speedy trial.
Just ahead of his expected surrender, Trump hired a new lead attorney for the Georgia case.
Prominent Atlanta criminal defense attorney Steve Sadow took the place of another high-profile criminal defense attorney, Drew Findling, who had represented Trump as recently as Monday when his bond terms were negotiated. But by Thursday Findling was no longer part of the team, according to a person with knowledge of the change who spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss the matter publicly.
Sadow, who has represented a rapper, Gunna, who pleaded guilty last year in a racketeering case also brought by Willis, said in a statement that “the president should never have been indicted. He is innocent of all the charges brought against him.”
“We look forward to the case being dismissed or, if necessary, an unbiased, open minded jury finding the president not guilty,” he added. “Prosecutions intended to advance or serve the ambitions and careers of political opponents of the president have no place in our justice system.”
It’s not the first time this year that Trump has shaken up his legal team either in the run-up to an indictment or in the immediate aftermath. One of his lead lawyers, Tim Parlatore, left the legal team weeks before Trump was indicted in Florida on charges of illegally hoarding classified documents, citing conflicts with a top Trump adviser. Two other lawyers, James Trusty and John Rowley, announced their resignations the morning after that indictment was returned.
Trump has repeatedly denied any wrongdoing. He said in a social media post this week that he was being prosecuted for what he described in capital letters as a “perfect phone call” in which he asked the Republican secretary of state, Brad Raffensperger, to help him “find 11,780 votes” for him to overturn his loss in the state to Democrat Joe Biden.
Trump is expected to turn himself in at the Fulton County jail, which has long been a troubled facility. The Justice Department last month opened a civil rights investigation into conditions, citing filthy cells, violence and the death last year of a man whose body was found covered in insects in the main jail’s psychiatric wing. Three people have died in Fulton County custody in the past month.
But Trump is not expected to spend much time there.
His attorneys and prosecutors have already agreed to a $200,000 bond, plus conditions that include barring the former president from intimidating co-defendants, witnesses or victims in the case.
When defendants arrive at the jail, they typically pass through a security checkpoint before checking in for formal booking in the lobby. During the booking process, defendants are typically photographed and fingerprinted and asked to provide certain personal information. Since Trump’s bond has already been set, he will be released from custody once the booking process is complete.
Unlike in other jurisdictions, in Fulton County, arraignments — in which a defendant appears in court for the first time — generally happen after a defendant surrenders at the jail and completes the booking process, not on the same day. That means Trump could have to make two trips to Georgia in the coming weeks though the Fulton County Sheriff’s Office has said some arraignments in the case may happen virtually if the judge allows, or he could waive Trump’s arraignment.
Tucker reported from Washington, Colvin from New York. Associated Press writer Sudhin Thanawala contributed to this report.
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