Trump Arrested in Georgia

ATLANTA — Donald Trump was arrested on Thursday for the fourth time this year on criminal charges, this time in connection with the former president's alleged efforts to overturn the Peach State's 2020 election that he lost to Joe Biden.

The Republican frontrunner for the 2024 presidential nomination entered the Fulton County Jail around 7:35 p.m. EST and was released at 7:51 p.m. EST. While in custody, Trump had his mug shot and fingerprints taken amid processing into the Georgia state inmate system.

Jail records posted online showed Trump's booking number — 2313827 – and that he measured in at 6-foot-3 and 215 pounds. His hair is listed as Blond or Strawberry and his eyes are labelled Blue.

Trump arrived at the jail after traveling from Atlanta's airport via a full-blown presidential-style motorcade. The highway was shut down and people lined the road shooting cellphone videos along with local police closing down intersections.

Trump’s arraignment is likely within the next two weeks, where he is all but certain to enter a not-guilty plea to the 13 criminal counts he faces in an indictment brought by Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis.

Earlier Thursday, Trump in a Truth Social post criticized Willis, calling her a "Radical Left, Lowlife District Attorney" who charged him for "A PERFECT PHONE CALL, and having the audacity to challenge a RIGGED & STOLLEN ELECTION."

"THE EVIDENCE IS IRREFUTABLE! ARREST TIME: 7:30 P.M.," Trump added.

In total, Willis secured a 41-count indictment from a grand jury last Monday that takes aim at Trump and 18 other co-conspirators.

Former U.S. President Donald Trump rides in a motorcade as he travels to the Fulton County jail on August 24, 2023 in Atlanta, Georgia. Joe Raedle/Getty Images

Willis’ nearly 100-page document spells out how during the days and weeks surrounding the 2020 election Trump and a team of lawyers and other operatives allegedly intimidated election workers, created a slate of unauthorized electors, knowingly lied to state legislators, and pressured Georgia secretary of State Brad Raffensperger.

Trump lost Georgia to Biden by just under 12,000 votes, a surprising result given how the Peach State hadn’t gone for a Democratic presidential candidate since Bill Clinton in 1992. The pro-Biden outcome was confirmed by four recounts, including a hand recount of ballot receipts. Nearly three years later, there has been no substantial evidence of fraud or malfeasance that would have changed that election result.

While Trump claims the case against him in Georgia is a scheme to interfere with his 2024 presidential run, he stands accused of being the ringleader of a criminal conspiracy to subvert the 2020 election results in Georgia. Certain defendants have been charged with election fraud through an attempted breach of voting systems.

Trump and all his alleged co-conspirators were given until Friday at noon to surrender to authorities at the Fulton County Jail.

A U.S. Secret Service agent stands outside the Fulton County jail as former President Donald Trump arrives to surrender on August 24, 2023 in Atlanta, Georgia. Joe Raedle/Getty Images

The first co-defendants to turn themselves in Tuesday were bail bondsman Scott Hall and former Trump attorney John Eastman, whose bonds were set at $10,000 and $100,000 respectively. Several more Trump associates surrendered on Wednesday: Rudy Giuliani ($150,000 bond), Sidney Powell ($100,000 bond), Kenneth Chesebro ($100,000 bond), David Shafer ($75,000 bond), Cathy Latham ($75,000 bond) and Jenna Ellis ($50,000 bond).

On Thursday, former White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows surrendered for arrest after negotiating a $100,000 bond. Others are expected to soon follow, including former senior DOJ official Jeffrey Clark, who has negotiated his own $100,000 bond agreement. Both Meadows and Clark had tried without success to block their immediate arrests while awaiting a ruling on whether they could move their criminal charges to federal court.

Known locally as Rice Street, the jail where Trump and company are being booked is notorious for its deadly conditions and is currently under investigation by the Justice Department. Fifteen people died while in custody there last year. This year seven people have died there, including a 66-year-old man awaiting trial for a shoplifting charge last week. In April, inmate LaShawn Thompson was found to have been “eaten alive by insects and bedbugs.” Rice Street also features prominently in Atlanta rap lyrics, getting mentions on tracks by well-known local artists Killer Mike and T.I.

Fulton County Sheriff Pat Labat said that Trump and the 18 co-defendants in the felony racketeering case against him would be treated like any other inmate. But while inmates can be held up to 72 hours before seeing a magistrate judge to post bond, Trump and his fellow defendants have negotiated their bond conditions and most all of them were expected to be in and out of the jail within an hour.

Fulton County indictments Fulton County Sheriff's Office

Trump’s attorneys negotiated a $200,000 bond for the former president. His bond conditions bar him from making direct or indirect threats against co-defendants or witnesses, and set up prohibitions that restrict the former president from doing anything that may be construed as interference or obstruction of justice. Violations raise the prospect he may face further penalties, such as fines or even jail time.

Georgia is one of four venues where Trump faces criminal trouble and upcoming trials. At every arraignment to date, he's pleaded not guilty, and he faces a combined 91 felony counts.

Former U.S. President Donald Trump sits in the courtroom with his attorneys Todd Blanche (L) and Susan Necheles during his arraignment at the Manhattan Criminal Court April 4, 2023 in New York City. Andrew Kelly-Pool/Getty Images

In Fulton County, Willis on Thursday proposed an Oct. 23 start date for the trial for Trump and all his co-defendants, a move that came in response to former campaign lawyer Kenneth Chesebro's request for a speedy resolution of the case. Trump's lawyers quickly responded with their own motion opposing a trial that begins in a little less than two months and also seeking to sever the former president's charges from those facing Chesebro.

A few hours after Willis' motion, Fulton County Superior Court Judge Scott McAfee agreed to set an Oct. 23 start date for just Chesebro's trial. McAfee said in his brief order that for now that schedule just applies to Chesebro.

In New York, a Trump trial scheduled for March 2024 will center around a 34-count indictment for hush money payments made to adult film actress Stormy Daniels during the 2016 presidential campaign.

In Fort Pierce, Fla., Trump is set to go on trial in May 2024 alongside two co-defendants — Walt Nauta, his personal valet or "body man," and Carlos De Oliveira, a Mar-a-Lago maintenance worker — for allegedly mishandling classified documents after leaving the White House and then conspiring to stymie the federal investigation.

And in Washington, D.C., Special Counsel Jack Smith charged Trump with four felony counts tied to his alleged efforts to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election. A hearing on Monday before U.S. District Court Judge Tanya Chutkan is likely to conclude with a trial schedule in that case, with Smith's team arguing a jury should start hearing arguments on Jan. 2, 2024, and Trump's lawyers pushing for a long delay until April 2026.