Trump surrendered at jail and then went home

(Patria) - Donald Trump on Thursday booked into jail in Atlanta on more than a dozen felony charges in a sweeping criminal case stemming from former U.S. President's efforts to overturn his 2020 election loss in Georgia, Reuters reports.

Trump, inmate No. P01135809, according to Fulton County jail records, spent about 20 minutes in the jail, where authorities said they would take his mugshot. It was the first time Trump has had his mugshot taken, though he has answered to charges in his three other criminal cases.

Before boarding his private jet at Atlanta's Hartsfield-Jackson airport after his booking, Trump reiterated his claim that the prosecution, along with prosecutors in other indictments he faces, were politically motivated.

"What has happened here is a travesty of justice," he told reporters. "I have done nothing wrong and nobody knows it better than I do," he added. Trump, 77, has already entered uncharted territory as the first former U.S. president to face criminal charges, even as he campaigns for the White House next year.

Far from hurting his candidacy, the four cases brought against him have only solidified his standing among Republican voters. He holds a commanding lead in polls in the race for the Republican nomination to oppose Democratic President Joe Biden in the November 2024 election.

Dozens of supporters, waving Trump banners and American flags, had rushed to see Trump arrive at the jail.

The mugshot, which was not immediately available, places Trump in the company of gangsters like Al Capone, singer Frank Sinatra and other famous Americans who have posed for jailhouse photos. The mugshot is sure to be shared by Trump's enemies and supporters alike.
"We want to put it on a t-shirt. It's going to go all over the world. It's going to be a more popular picture than the Mona Lisa," said Laura Loomer, 30, a former Republican congressional candidate.

Earlier in the day, Judge Scott McAfee set an Oct. 23 trial date for one of Trump's 18 co-defendants, lawyer Kenneth Chesebro, after Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis proposed that date in response to Chesebro's request for a speedy trial. The judge's order says the schedule does not yet apply to Trump or any of the other defendants.

All 19 defendants face a Friday deadline to surrender. Court records show Mark Meadows, who served as Trump's White House chief of staff, was processed at the jail on Thursday.

The jail is known for its grim conditions that have inspired rap songs and prompted a U.S. Justice Department investigation. Trump faces 13 felony counts in the Georgia case, including racketeering, which is typically used to target organized crime, for pressuring state officials to overturn his election loss and for submitting a false slate of electors to undermine the formal congressional certification of Biden's 2020 victory.