Official registration
Prosecution in Georgia: Trump wants to report to the prison in Atlanta on Thursday
A picture of Donald Trump from the summer of 2020 when he was still in office
© Jim Watson
Donald Trump must report to county jail for registration before the Atlanta trial for attempted voter fraud begins. Safety precautions have already been tightened around the building.
In the Atlanta case, the court ordered Trump bail at $200,000 so he could remain at large. In the four ongoing criminal proceedings against him, it is the first time that such a monetary condition has become known.
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In addition to Donald Trump, 18 other people have been charged
A jury in Atlanta ruled that Trump should stand trial over his attempts to influence the outcome of the 2020 Georgia presidential election. The prosecutor responsible, Fani Willis, had given Trump and 18 other suspects a deadline of this Friday to make representations to the authorities in Atlanta. There are long prison sentences.
In the almost 100-page indictment, Trump and several accomplices are accused, among other things, of having urged public officials to violate their oath of office in order to subsequently overturn the outcome of the election in Georgia. Trump narrowly lost the state in the 2020 presidential election. A criminal offense from the so-called Rico law is particularly delicate in the indictment. This makes it possible to take action against several suspects at the same time as part of a criminal organization. The law was originally enacted to combat mafia racketeering.
Security has already been tightened around the Atlanta County Jail. On Tuesday, the first of the 19 accused presented themselves there, including Trump’s former lawyer John Eastman. He is considered one of the main minds behind the attempted election fraud, and bail was set at $100,000. “My attorneys and I will vigorously fight every aspect of these charges,” Eastman said in a statement.
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At such an appointment, the personal details of those affected are usually recorded and police photos are taken. This can formally be an arrest. In the previous indictments against Trump in New York, Washington and Miami, this procedure was carried out in the responsible courts shortly before the indictment was read out. There were no police photos at the time. It is still unclear whether Trump will also be able to avoid police photos in Atlanta.
Court documents released on Monday also show that Trump is not allowed to discuss details of the case with the 18 other suspects, except through lawyers. He is also forbidden from intimidating potential witnesses and obstructing legal work. In the case, prosecutor Willis proposed an indictment hearing the week of September 5 and a trial beginning in March next year. However, it is very possible that this date will be delayed.
Trump has already been indicted at the federal level in Washington for his campaign against his own defeat in the 2020 election. In the 2020 presidential election, he lost to his Democratic challenger Joe Biden. To this day, however, Trump has not admitted this defeat, instead spreading the lie that he was deprived of victory through election fraud.
Trump wants to delay the start of the trial
Indictments have also been filed against Trump in New York and Miami. The New York case is related to hush money payments to a porn star. The Miami case revolves around the safekeeping of top-secret government documents in a private Trump home. The 77-year-old rejects all allegations and speaks of a politically motivated “witch hunt” that is only intended to prevent him from moving into the White House again. The former real estate mogul is the first ex-president in US history to face criminal charges.
Trump is trying to delay the start of the court proceedings as much as possible – also with a view to the election campaign: He wants to run again for the Republicans in the 2024 presidential election. There is no regulation in the USA that would prevent him from doing so if he is convicted – not even from entering the White House.