US Justice
Atlanta: Authorities release mugshot of Trump
This photo provided by the Fulton County Sheriff’s Office
© Uncredited/Fulton County Sheriff’s Office/AP/dpa
Americans have gotten used to the fact that an ex-president has to take a seat in the dock. But the fact that he has to appear in prison and a police photo is taken of him stands out.
Authorities in the US state of Georgia have released a mugshot of the former US President in connection with the charge of attempted voter fraud against Donald Trump. The sheriff’s office made the memorable recording public after Trump was in the county jail in Atlanta had given to the authorities.
Despite Trump’s various legal problems, it is the first time that he has had to have a police photo taken of himself. In the three other cases in which criminal charges were brought against the Republican presidential nominee, authorities had waived it. The photo taken now should go down in history.
No exemptions
Trump had been charged with 18 other suspects over his attempts to influence the outcome of the 2020 presidential election in Georgia. Prosecutors had given the Republican and the other defendants until this Friday to make a voluntary appearance to the authorities in Atlanta.
Various defendants in the case had already appeared at the Atlanta County Jail on Tuesday and Wednesday, where their personal details were taken and police pictures were taken. Trump followed on Thursday evening to endure the formal procedure that follows an indictment. However, unlike the authorities in the other criminal proceedings against Trump in New York, Miami and Washington, the authorities in Atlanta did not grant him any exemptions.
$200,000 bail
Even the fact that the former US President, unlike the previous charges, had to appear in prison instead of in court for the formal registration, had a new quality in the public eye. This is all the more true for the mug shot of what was once the most powerful man in the world.
The Georgia court had also ordered Trump bail of $200,000 (around €184,000) so he could remain at large. In the ongoing criminal proceedings against him, it is the first time that such a monetary requirement has become known.
Trump left the prison in Atlanta after less than half an hour and then left the city on his private plane – not before complaining bitterly about the prosecution against him and depicting it as an attempt to influence the election.
Almost a hundred pages long indictment
The charges in Georgia center on Trump’s efforts to retrospectively overturn the outcome of the state’s 2020 presidential election. 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.
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.
More charges against Trump
Trump has already been indicted at the federal level in Washington for his campaign against his own defeat in the 2020 election. In the presidential election almost three years ago, 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 electoral fraud.
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 actress. The Miami case revolves around the safekeeping of top-secret government documents in a private Trump home. The former real estate mogul, who wants to run again in the 2024 presidential election, rejects all allegations and sees the charges as an attempt by his opponents to prevent him from running for another term.