Donald Trump on Thursday became the first former U.S. president to have a mug shot taken when he surrendered at an Atlanta jail to be booked on charges related to his attempts to reverse his 2020 election loss in Georgia.
Trump, facing his fourth indictment in the last five months, has agreed to a $200,000 bond and other bail conditions, including not threatening witnesses or his 18 co-defendants. He was released after a speedy booking process which lasted about 20 minutes and also saw him fingerprinted.
Despite facing a total of 91 felony counts at the state and federal levels, Trump maintains a large lead in the race for the 2024 Republican presidential nomination. His appearance at the Fulton County jail came a day after the party's first primary debate, which he skipped, calling it meaningless.
Trump's mug shot image, released to the public by local authorities, showed him glaring at the camera. A number of his backers and pundits suggested that he will use the photo to his political advantage and turn it into a new campaign tool.
"What has taken place here is a travesty of justice," Trump, wearing his signature navy suit, white shirt and red tie, told reporters before boarding his private plane to head back to New Jersey, footage of which was aired by broadcasters. "We did nothing wrong. I did nothing wrong."
Trump also quickly posted the image of the mug shot on his social media website, Truth Social, with the words "ELECTION INTERFERENCE" and "NEVER SURRENDER!" He posted the same image on his Twitter account in what was his first post on the platform since January 2021.
Trump was indicted on Aug. 14 in the Georgia case on 13 counts, such as violating the state's anti-racketeering act and conspiring to impersonate a public officer.
It came roughly two weeks after the 77-year-old was charged by a federal grand jury with four felony counts also related to efforts to overturn his defeat to then Democrat candidate Joe Biden in the previous presidential election.
Trump's other pending trials are for a New York case stemming from a hush money payment to a porn star and for a federal case over his retention of classified national security documents at his resort in Florida.
The former president has denied any wrongdoing in all four cases, calling them politically motivated and accusing Democrats of trying to derail his 2024 campaign to return to the White House.
Hours before Trump's appearance at the jail, Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis responded to a speedy trial request from one co-defendant by asking a judge to start the trial on Oct. 23, moving the date up from March 4 next year as she had proposed earlier.
But Trump's legal team later informed the court that he opposes the newly proposed date, with wrangling over a trial schedule continuing and his many legal troubles already causing logistical difficulties.
Prosecutors have requested that arraignments take place in the week of Sept. 5.
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Trump pleads not guilty to charges over bid to undo 2020 election
Trump indicted for efforts to overturn 2020 presidential election
