ATLANTA – Former US president Donald Trump was arrested and booked into a Georgia jail on charges that he conspired to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election in Georgia.
According to reports, authorities confirmed that Trump was fingerprinted and a booking photo – commonly known as a mugshot – was taken of the former president and later released to the public.
Trump, who is accused of colluding with 18 other defendants to overturn the 2020 election result in the southern state, spent less than 30 minutes inside Atlanta’s Fulton County Jail before leaving in a motorcade for the airport.
“What has taken place here is a travesty of justice. We did nothing wrong at all and we have every single right to challenge an election we think is dishonest,” Trump told reporters speaking on the tarmac moments before boarding his plane to leave Atlanta.
Trump is facing charges in four separate criminal cases, but this is the first time he has a mugshot taken.
Trump is facing 13 separate counts in Georgia, including a racketeering charge and several fraud and false statement counts. The deadline for Trump and his 18 co-defendants in the case to turn themselves in is Friday.
Trump was able to dodge having a mugshot taken during his previous arrests this year – in New York on charges of paying hush money to a porn star, in Florida for mishandling top secret government documents, and in Washington on charges of conspiring to upend his 2020 election loss to Democrat Joe Biden.
Earlier Thursday, Trump shook up his legal team in the case, replacing lawyer Drew Findling with attorney Steven Sadow.
Sadow said in a statement to NBC News ahead of Trump’s appearance that he “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.” – The Vibes, August 25, 2023
