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“The former president arrived in a motorcade and entered a rear entrance of the Fulton County Jail to be booked on racketeering charges. He left 20 minutes later.
By Reuters
Doug Mills/The New York Times
Doug Mills/The New York Times
Kendrick Brinson for The New York Times
Kenny Holston/The New York Times
Kendrick Brinson for The New York Times
Nicole Craine for The New York Times
Nicole Craine for The New York Times
Kendrick Brinson for The New York Times
Nicole Craine for The New York Times
Pinned
Former President Donald J. Trump was booked at an Atlanta jail on Thursday in his fourth criminal arrest this year, this time in a sweeping racketeering case accusing him and his allies of conspiring to reverse his 2020 election loss in Georgia.
Mr. Trump flew to Atlanta in a private plane from Newark, N.J., and was whisked to the Fulton County Jail in a motorcade with a police escort, arriving at 7:35 p.m. He was then fingerprinted and photographed like other people accused of state crimes and released on bond.
Aug. 24, 2023, 8:22 p.m. ET7 minutes ago
This entire experience was fairly different from the previous ones. Trump was allowed to report his own vitals, such as eye color, weight and height, which expedited the process. He spoke just briefly. He did not stop at a restaurant or anywhere nearby, as he did after his Miami court appearance.
Aug. 24, 2023, 8:20 p.m. ET10 minutes ago
Trump spoke by his plane at the airport in Atlanta, saying he did nothing wrong and calling the case a “travesty of justice.” He added, “We have every right to challenge an election we think is dishonest.”
Aug. 24, 2023, 8:21 p.m. ET9 minutes ago
He then boarded his plane, ignoring a shouted question about whether he will pardon himself (which he can’t do in a state case regardless).
A number of Trump supporters gathered at the jail were openly disappointed that they did not get a glimpse of the former president. “He’s gone?” some asked after Trump’s brief trip to the jail.
Aug. 24, 2023, 8:02 p.m. ET27 minutes ago
Trump had a mugshot taken — a first for him in his indictments — and was once again fingerprinted, according to two people familiar with the booking details.
Aug. 24, 2023, 8:08 p.m. ET22 minutes ago
Sheriff Pat Labat of Fulton County confirmed that Trump had his mug shot and fingerprints taken.
Aug. 24, 2023, 7:58 p.m. ET32 minutes ago
Trump’s booking seemed particularly speedy as his motorcade is now headed back to the Atlanta airport.
Aug. 24, 2023, 7:59 p.m. ET30 minutes ago
Sean Keenan
Reporting from Atlanta.
Seated in the backseat of an SUV, Trump offered a thumbs up to a pool of photographers documenting his exit from the jail.
Aug. 24, 2023, 7:45 p.m. ET44 minutes ago
Donald J. Trump is now in the Fulton County booking system, which records him as having “blonde or strawberry” hair, a height of 6′ 3″ and weight of 215 pounds.
Aug. 24, 2023, 7:48 p.m. ET42 minutes ago
That weight is 24 pounds less than the White House doctor reported Trump weighing in 2018.
Aug. 24, 2023, 7:56 p.m. ET33 minutes ago
His form is said to have been filled out by aides, not done by officials at the jail.
Aug. 24, 2023, 7:36 p.m. ET53 minutes ago
Sean Keenan
Reporting from Atlanta.
Trump’s motorcade has arrived at the jail’s rear entrance.
The Fulton County Jail, known as Rice Street, is not a place for the faint of heart, said a veteran defense lawyer who has had many clients booked there.Audra Melton for The New York Times
Like most people charged with a crime in Atlanta, former President Donald J. Trump will have to pass through an infamous jail known to the locals as “Rice Street.”
The local sheriff, who oversees the sprawling detention center officially called the Fulton County Jail, says that even high-profile defendants like Mr. Trump are treated like everyone else when they surrender there.
Aug. 24, 2023, 7:17 p.m. ET1 hour ago
Trump was seen emerging from his plane at Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport in Atlanta, in video carried by CNN. The network has been carrying live footage of Trump’s plane landing and taxiing at the airport.
Aug. 24, 2023, 7:27 p.m. ET1 hour ago
After exiting his plane, the former president got into a large SUV and drove off in a motorcade of around 16 cars.
Aug. 24, 2023, 7:27 p.m. ET1 hour ago
As similar images played on Fox News, commentators described the case against Trump as a corrupt effort by Democrats to take down a powerful rival.
Aug. 24, 2023, 7:13 p.m. ET1 hour ago
Harrison Floyd III, a former 2020 Trump campaign staff member, remains in custody Thursday evening because he showed up to his booking without a lawyer, according to a person with knowledge of what took place. Unlike other defendants, he did not take up the district attorney’s offer to work out a bond agreement ahead of time, meaning he could be in jail for several days. The Washington Post reported earlier on his arrest in February related to an alleged assault on a federal agent.
Steven H. Sadow has represented famous clients including the singer Usher and the rappers T.I., Rick Ross, and Gunna.Vino Wong/Atlanta Journal-Constitution, via Associated Press
Just hours before Donald J. Trump was set to be booked on racketeering charges at Fulton County Jail in Atlanta, he shook up his legal team in Georgia, adding Steven H. Sadow, a veteran criminal defense lawyer who has handled a number of high-profile cases.
Mr. Sadow filed a document with the court on Thursday stating that he was now “lead counsel of record for Donald John Trump.”
Aug. 24, 2023, 6:55 p.m. ET2 hours ago
Christian Boone
Reporting from Atlanta.
Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene, the hard-right Georgia Republican, was outside of the Fulton County Jail, where she spoke briefly to a crowd of reporters and dozens of fellow Trump supporters. Ms. Greene reiterated the false assertion that Mr. Trump won the 2020 election and argued that Mr. Trump should not have been indicted in Georgia.
Aug. 24, 2023, 6:52 p.m. ET2 hours ago
Sean Keenan
Reporting from Atlanta.
Law enforcement parked a prisoner transport bus to the east and a dump truck to the west of the Fulton County Jail’s rear entrance, presumably preparing for Trump’s arrival here. The Secret Service and sheriff’s deputies locked the road down shortly before 6 p.m.
Aug. 24, 2023, 6:55 p.m. ET2 hours ago
Sean Keenan
Reporting from Atlanta.
On Rice Street, where the jail’s main entrance is, deputies cordoned off a small area, coralling protesters and journalists inside. “It’s a hard shut down now,” a sheriff's deputy told reporters.
Former President Donald Trump at Reagan National Airport in Washington this month.Doug Mills/The New York Times
Earlier this week, Fulton County Superior Court Judge Scott McAfee signed order after order laying out bail conditions for 15 of the 19 defendants in the election fraud case involving Donald J. Trump.
He set bonds ranging from $10,000 for several of the indictment’s lesser-known targets, to $150,000 for Rudolph W. Giuliani, the president’s former lawyer, and $200,000 for Mr. Trump himself.
Aug. 24, 2023, 6:39 p.m. ET2 hours ago
Trump will use a commercial bondsman, Charles Shaw of Foster Bail Bonds, to post his $200,000 bond, the bondsman confirmed. By paying the bondsman a fee of $20,000, or 10 percent of the bond amount, Trump should be able to expedite his release, Shaw said.
Aug. 24, 2023, 6:40 p.m. ET2 hours ago
Shaw is something of a bondsman to the stars in Atlanta, having covered the bonds of several rappers, politicians and Claud McIver, the attorney whose conviction for killing his wife was recently overturned. He will also guarantee the bonds of Mark Meadows, David Shafer and Rudolph W. Giuliani, he said.
Aug. 24, 2023, 7:14 p.m. ET1 hour ago
A person familiar with the matter confirms the CNN reporting that Trump is paying the 10 percent of his $200,000 bond personally. It's not only notable that the billionaire businessman is using a bail bondsman, but also that he’s covering the percentage himself. The political action committee aligned with him, Save America, has been paying his legal bills.
Aug. 24, 2023, 6:08 p.m. ET2 hours ago
The booking of a former president in a notoriously dangerous jail will be a dramatic moment. But another dramatic episode in a criminal case, arraignment — in which defendants go to court, hear the charges against them and enter a plea — may not occur. In Fulton County, defendants may opt to waive their arraignments by having their lawyer fill out a form in which they enter a not guilty plea for their clients in absentia. It is difficult to imagine a scenario in which Trump chooses to enter a plea in person.
Jenna Ellis and David Shafer in their mug shots in Georgia.Fulton County Sheriff's Office, via Associated Press
The traditional mug shot is usually a grim affair: poorly lit and sullen. It is a permanent portrait of shame — the legal system’s scarlet letter.
It is, almost by definition, unsmiling.
Aug. 24, 2023, 5:33 p.m. ET3 hours ago
The fast-tracking of the Chesebro trial is a reminder of the big scheduling decisions that remain undecided in the federal election interference case in Washington. The special counsel, Jack Smith, has asked for a January 2024 trial, while Trump’s team wants to push it until 2026. Judge Tanya Chutkan will hold a status conference on Monday to hash it out.
Aug. 24, 2023, 5:57 p.m. ET3 hours ago
The complicated choreography of bookings, mug shots and motions in Fulton County illustrates a major difference with the streamlined election interference case brought by Smith — one defendant, one set of defense lawyers, one court calendar. The Washington case is built for speed.
Aug. 24, 2023, 5:18 p.m. ET3 hours ago
The Fulton County Sheriff’s Office is not allowing news media access to the parking lot in front of the jail’s main entrance. It is a break with Atlanta tradition: The parking lot has for years been a place where a local media scrum would gather to record high-profile defendants as they went inside to be processed.
Fani T. Willis, left, the district attorney in Fulton County, Ga., proposed the trial to start on Oct. 23 for all 19 defendants — including former President Donald J. Trump.Kenny Holston/The New York Times
Judge Scott McAfee of Fulton County Superior Court approved the motion of Kenneth Chesebro, one of the defendants in the Georgia election interference case, for a speedy trial, setting a start date for Oct. 23.
But proceedings may not move so fast, particularly for the other 18 defendants. Legal observers say this is likely only the beginning of a complicated battle over timing in the Georgia case. And because Mr. Trump is a leading candidate in a presidential contest that will be decided in roughly 15 months, timing is a more fraught matter in this case than usual.
Aug. 24, 2023, 4:58 p.m. ET4 hours ago
Judge Scott McAfee of Fulton County Superior Court just approved Kenneth Chesebro’s motion for a speedy trial, setting a start date of Oct. 23. But he explicitly said his ruling did not apply to Mr. Chesebro’s co-defendants, including Donald J. Trump. That raises the strong possibility of multiple trials at different times, with the first starting much sooner than expected. But the timing is still not certain, in part because there are also requests to move the case to federal court.
Aug. 24, 2023, 4:51 p.m. ET4 hours ago
The racketeering indictment against President Trump and 18 of his allies alleges they “constituted a criminal organization” that sought to overturn Trump’s election loss in Georgia. But its members did not all know each other — nor did they have to in order to be charged under Georgia’s racketeering statute. No matter how their case turns out, all of them, from the powerful to the obscure, will soon share the experience of having their mug shots taken at the Fulton County Jail.
Aug. 24, 2023, 4:47 p.m. ET4 hours ago
Trump’s new lawyer, Steven H. Sadow, has already notified the court that he plans to seek to sever Trump’s case from that of his co-defendant Kenneth Chesebro, who has sought a speedy trial. If the case remained in state court and the Trump motion were approved, it would lead to multiple trials.
Aug. 24, 2023, 4:46 p.m. ET4 hours ago
On CNN, Harvey Silverglate, the lawyer for John Eastman, said in an interview that his client would seek to sever his case from the others, following the lead of Trump, whose new lawyer, Steven H. Sadow, filed for a severance today. Prosecutors have said they hope to try all 19 defendants together.
Aug. 24, 2023, 4:42 p.m. ET4 hours ago
Hours before he was set to be booked at an Atlanta jail, Trump referred to Thursday as a “dark day” in a fund-raising email to supporters. “This arrest — and every one of these four sham indictments,” he wrote, “have all been designed to strike fear into the hearts of the American people, to intimidate you out of voting to save your country, and ultimately, to interfere in the 2024 election.”
Aug. 24, 2023, 4:35 p.m. ET4 hours ago
Trump is on Truth Social attacking Atlanta as crime-ridden as he heads to Fulton County for his arrest. It’s unclear whether any of these posts will test the limits of his social media restrictions under his bond package.
Aug. 24, 2023, 4:23 p.m. ET4 hours ago
Donald Trump is turning himself in later today at the notorious Fulton County jail, which has been under investigation by the Department of Justice for several weeks. Its Rice Street address has also been namechecked by a number of rappers, including Latto and Killer Mike.
Aug. 24, 2023, 4:11 p.m. ET4 hours ago
Sean Keenan
Reporting from Atlanta.
A confrontation among a few demonstrators captured the attention of dozens out in the sweltering heat: Domenic Santana, founder of the Republicans Against Trump, or RAT, group, marched up Rice Street carrying a sign with a fake mugshot of a bald Trump that read, “You Do the Crime You Pay the Time.” He was dressed in a striped prison jumpsuit and trailed by three people costumed as rats.
The hard-right firebrand Laura Loomer chased after him, shouting through a bullhorn, accusing him of stirring up trouble.
Aug. 24, 2023, 3:52 p.m. ET5 hours ago
The timing of a trial on the Georgia case is uncertain. But it seemed possible that a trial could start far earlier than thought, with District Attorney Fani T. Willis now seeking an Oct. 23 start date after one of the defendants, Kenneth Chesebro, moved for a speedy trial.
Aug. 24, 2023, 3:53 p.m. ET5 hours ago
Some other defendants, however, are seeking to move the case to federal court, and Donald J. Trump said in court papers that he opposed going to trial in October.
Aug. 24, 2023, 3:38 p.m. ET5 hours ago
Sean Keenan
Reporting from Atlanta.
The brutal Georgia heat dampened the spirits of many protesters outside the Fulton County Courthouse Thursday afternoon, sending the once-raucous crowd looking for shade. Some Trump opponents and the more numerous Trump supporters — and a few of the countless reporters keeping watch —took refuge below trees shading a sidewalk on Marietta Avenue. Journalists stationed outside the jail jumped to attention each time law enforcement officers changed positions.
Aug. 24, 2023, 3:29 p.m. ET5 hours ago
As Donald Trump prepares to be booked at an Atlanta jail this evening, two more of his co-defendants turned themselves in on Thursday: Mark Meadows, his former White House chief of staff, and Harrison Floyd, a former campaign staffer.
Aug. 24, 2023, 3:23 p.m. ET5 hours ago
Trump shook up his legal team in Georgia just this morning, replacing his lawyer Drew Findling with Steven Sadow, who came highly recommended to Trump’s team. He is keeping another lawyer, Jennifer Little, who has a lot of institutional knowledge about the case. Still, it is entirely characteristic of Trump to switch lawyers around on a high-stakes day.
Aug. 24, 2023, 3:19 p.m. ET5 hours ago
Trump is expected to arrive in Atlanta later today, but so far there is much less fanfare built up than there was for his initial court appearance in Miami or in Manhattan, where he was arraigned the first time.
Representative Jim Jordan, Republican of Ohio and the chairman of the Judiciary Committee, accused Fani T. Willis of carrying out a politically motivated prosecution. Kenny Holston/The New York Times
House Republicans took aim on Thursday at the Georgia prosecutor bringing a sweeping felony racketeering case against former President Donald J. Trump for his efforts to overturn the 2020 election, moving to investigate the woman pursuing the case just hours before Mr. Trump was to be booked at an Atlanta jail.
Representative Jim Jordan, Republican of Ohio and chairman of the House Judiciary Committee, announced he was opening an inquiry into Fani T. Willis, the Fulton County, Ga., district attorney, questioning whether she had collaborated with Biden administration officials and targeting any federal funding her office receives.
Former President Donald J. Trump in Erie, Pa., last month.Maddie McGarvey for The New York Times
Just before his visit to an Atlanta jail to be booked on 13 felony counts, Donald J. Trump has shaken up his Georgia legal defense team, adding Steve Sadow, a veteran criminal defense lawyer who has taken on a number of high-profile cases.
Mr. Sadow filed a document with the court on Thursday stating that he was now “lead counsel of record for Donald John Trump.”
Former President Donald J. Trump faces federal and state investigations in New York, Georgia and Washington.Meridith Kohut for The New York Times
Former President Donald J. Trump has been facing a wave of legal scrutiny, at both the state and federal levels, into matters related to his business and political careers.
Those investigations have now led to Mr. Trump’s being indicted in four cases in four months: two brought by the special counsel Jack Smith, one by the Manhattan district attorney and the latest coming from local prosecutors in Georgia.“
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