Former President Donald Trump surrendered at Fulton County Jail in Atlanta on Thursday evening and booked on more than a dozen charges stemming from what prosecutors say were efforts to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election in the state.
He arrived for his booking at 7:30pm, escorted by a Secret Service entourage at least a dozen black cars deep and a motorcade of law enforcement officials after traveling on his private jet from his residence in Bedminster, New Jersey.
Afterward, he made brief – and defiant – remarks.
“If you challenge an election, you should be able to challenge the election. I thought the election was a rigged election, a stolen election. And I should have every right to do that,” he said before boarding his plane. “What has taken place here is a travesty of justice. We did nothing wrong. I did nothing wrong.”
Throngs of Trump’s supporters and critics alike gathered early in the morning behind barricades in the parking lot across from the infamous jail ahead of the former president’s arrival, holding signs, shouting from megaphones and waving flags.
Converging with the heavy media presence and tight security, it was all but certainly the media circus Trump had hoped it would be in the wake of the first GOP presidential primary debate on Wednesday evening, which the former president chose to sit out, citing his record-setting lead in polling.
Trump and 18 of his closest allies are being charged in a sweeping racketeering scheme, which involved spreading conspiracy theories, pressuring elected officials and propping up fake electors to overturn the 2020 presidential election results in Georgia in a desperate effort to remain in power despite having lost the presidency in a free and fair vote.
The charges follow a two-year investigation by Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis.
The indictment marks the fourth set of criminal charges against Trump, who now faces a cumulative 91 felony counts in New York state court for hush money payments to porn star Stormy Daniels, in federal court in Florida for mishandling classified documents, in federal court in the District of Columbia for his efforts to prevent the peaceful transfer of power and incite a violent insurrection at the Capitol and now in Georgia.
Sheriff Pat Labat maintained that Trump would be treated like anyone else accused of a crime by a grand jury – and by all accounts he was. The booking process has become somewhat commonplace for Trump, even though it remains unprecedented among former presidents.
But unlike his other surrenders, this one included a photograph – a mugshot that became a part of American history the second the shutter clicked as the first former U.S. president was captured through the lens. The photo is set to be released by the county sheriff’s office on Friday.
Trump, who is the front-runner for the 2024 Republican presidential nomination, has denied wrongdoing in all the cases against him and continues to repeat unfounded claims that the 2020 presidential election was “rigged and stolen.” In reality, Trump lost the general election to Biden, and, in Georgia specifically, he lost by some 11,779 votes.
Trump, in his remarks, repeated claims that his indictments are an attempt by Democrats and the so-called “deep state” to undermine his candidacy for president.
“What they're doing is election interference. They're trying to interfere with an election,” he said. “There’s never been anything like it in our country before. This is their way of campaigning.”
The conditions for his release, which were set last week, include a $200,000 bond and strict conditions on his social media use. Among other things, he must not violate any laws in Georgia or elsewhere, he must appear in court as directed, he must not communicate about the facts of the case with fellow co-defendants – except through his legal team – and he must not intimidate co-defendants or witnesses.
Hours before his surrender, Trump replaced one of his leading attorneys, Drew Findling, with Steve Sadow, a widely respected criminal defense lawyer in Atlanta who recently defended a rapper in a racketeering case. Shadow has long criticized Georgia prosecutors for overusing the state’s RICO law.
The sudden change in defense came as a surprise – though not entirely out of character for Trump, who has been burning through attorneys in recent months as his legal challenges mount.
At least 12 of Trump’s 18 co-defendants have surrendered already, including Mark Meadows, the former White House chief of staff, former U.S. acting Assistant Attorney General Jeffrey Clark and Trump’s former personal lawyer Rudy Giuliani.
Meadows, the former White House chief of staff, had sought to delay his surrender date until a decision was made on his request to move his charges to federal court and dismiss the indictment altogether. But a federal judge on Wednesday denied him an extension.
The handful of other co-defendants who have yet to surrender have until noon on Friday before Willis issues warrants for their arrests.
Willis initially proposed that the trial begin on March 4 – adding to an already busy legal calendar for Trump heading into the 2024 election. But the former president is seeking to delay the case for as long as possible, including by lengthy pre-trial motions and a petition to move the charges to a federal court. Legal experts say Willis' timeline is likely untenable – though she did file a motion on Thursday to move up the timeline for the trial to Oct. 23 after one of the co-defendants filed a request for a speedy trial.
B | 预计，“紫檀”将先在北部湾海面回旋少动，23日傍晚起，将以每小时5-10公里的速度向东北转偏北方向移动，强度逐渐加强，最强可达强热带风暴级（10-11级，25-30米/秒），并逐渐向广西沿海至广东雷州半岛西侧一带沿海靠近。 另外，今年第20号台风“简拉维”（热带风暴级）的中心今天（23日）早晨5点钟位于台湾省台北市东北方向大约115公里的东海南部海面上，就是北纬25.8度、东经122.4度，中心附近最大风力有8级（18米/秒），中心最低气压为998百帕，七级风圈半径50-100公里。 预计，“简拉维”将以每小时5-10公里的速度向西偏南方向移动，强度逐渐减弱，将于24日在台湾海峡减弱消散。
C | 大风预报：8月23日08时至24日08时，北部湾、南海大部、琼州海峡、巴士海峡、台湾海峡、台湾以东洋面、东海大部及钓鱼岛附近海域、黄海西南部海域、长江口区、杭州湾以及江苏南部沿海、上海沿海、浙江沿海、福建北部沿海、台湾岛北部和东部沿海、广西沿海、广东雷州半岛西侧沿海、海南岛沿海将有6-8级大风、阵风8-10级，其中北部湾部分海域的风力有9-11级、阵风11-13级。
D | 降雨预报：8月23日08时至24日08时，广西南部、海南岛西南部、广东东部和北部、福建东部和南部、浙江东南部、台湾岛等地部分地区有大到暴雨，其中，广西南部、台湾岛南部等地有大暴雨，局地特大暴雨(250-350毫米)。
E |
二、“沙德尔”加强为超强台风级
今年第18号台风“沙德尔”已于今天（23日）凌晨2点钟加强为超强台风级，早晨5点钟其中心位于距离美国关岛塞班北偏西方向约680公里的西北太平洋洋面上，就是北纬20.8度，东经143.0度，中心附近最大风力16级（52米/秒），中心最低气压为935百帕，七级风圈半径350-400公里，十级风圈半径120-150公里，十二级风圈半径50-60公里。 预计，“沙德尔”将以每小时25公里左右的速度向西偏北方向移动，强度逐渐增强，25日前对我国近海海域无影响。
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