Donald Trump surrenders in Capitol violence case

Washington, August 25

Embattled Donald Trump has surrendered to authorities in Georgia on charges of plotting to overturn the state’s 2020 election results in an arrest that saw the first-ever mugshot of a former US president. Trump, 77, spent about 22 minutes inside the Fulton County Jail on Thursday where he was booked on felony charges of racketeering and conspiracy linked to his alleged efforts to overturn his 2020 re-election loss in Georgia. In January 2021, riots took place at Capitol in Washington by his supporters after Trump alleged voter fraud in the election.

Trump was released pending trial after paying a $2,00,000 bond his lawyers negotiated earlier this week with Fulton County prosecutor Fani Willis. His surrender in Georgia marks the fourth time this year the former president has turned himself in after criminal charges were brought against him by federal and state officials. But it’s the first time he was subjected to a mugshot.

Did nothing wrong

What has taken place here is a travesty of justice. I did nothing wrong, and everybody knows that. What they’re doing is election interference. —Donald Trump, Ex-president

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No previous president of the United States has been charged with criminal offences. But Trump is now facing 91 charges across the four indictments for his alleged actions before, during and after his single-term presidency ended in January 2021.

Trump, a Republican, also posted the mugshot to his X account, formerly known as Twitter, as well as to Truth Social, both posts with the words “election interference” and “never surrender.” It marked Trump’s first tweet since January 8, 2021, two days after the Capitol riots.

Trump, the leading Republican contender for the Republican Party’s 2024 presidential nomination, told reporters that he has done nothing wrong.