Sheriff: Trump and 18 co-defendants expected to be booked into Georgia’s Fulton County Jail
The Fulton County Sheriff’s Office announced Tuesday that Trump and his 18 co-defendants are “expected” to be booked into the Fulton County Jail in Atlanta before being arraigned in court
Former President Donald Trump is expected to turn himself in at the Fulton County Jail, along with the 18 others co-defendants charged Monday in the 2020 election subversion case in Georgia, the county sheriff’s office said Tuesday in a statement cited by several U.S. media outlets,
Trump, who was indicted on 13 counts, including racketeering, has not publicly indicated when he intends to turn himself in before the Aug. 25 deadline imposed by Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis.
The statement from the Fulton County Sheriff’s Office addressed the key question of where the former president would be arrested and prosecuted as a criminal defendant.
“At this point, based on guidance received from the district attorney’s office and the presiding judge, it is expected that the 19 defendants named in the indictment will be booked into the Rice Street Jail,” the statement said.
“Please note that defendants may turn themselves in at any time. The jail is open 24 hours a day, 7 days a week,” the press release says. “In addition, due to the unprecedented nature of this case, some circumstances may change with little or no warning.”
Most defendants charged in Fulton County are generally booked into the Fulton County Jail. Fulton County Sheriff Pat Labat previously suggested he wants to treat defendants charged in the Trump election subversion case the same way any other defendant would be treated.
“Unless someone tells me otherwise, we will follow normal practices. No matter your status, we will have mugshots ready for you,” Labat said earlier this month referring to Donald Trump.
The sheriff will now have to negotiate with the Secret Service and Trump’s lawyers over the logistics of Trump’s surrender.
Defendants who are not arrested immediately upon indictment, as has been the case with Trump and his associates in Georgia, because they generally negotiate bail, if applicable, as well as other release terms with the district attorney’s office.
Rudy Giuliani, Trump’s former lawyer who is also a defendant in the case, said Tuesday on WABC radio that he would pick a day next week to turn himself in to authorities, adding, “I would imagine there has to be bail. It’s kind of silly for me to have a bond, I mean I showed up there voluntarily and testified.”
The 41-count indictment unsealed Monday night features a wide-ranging investigation led by Willis into some of the efforts by Trump allies to meddle in the 2020 presidential election.
It accuses the former president of being the head of a “criminal enterprise” that was part of a broad conspiracy to overturn his election defeat in Georgia.
Charges in the indictment include: False statements and solicitation of state legislatures; false statements and solicitation of high-ranking state officials; the creation and distribution of false Electoral College documents; harassment of poll workers; solicitation of Justice Department officials; solicitation of then-Vice President Mike Pence; illegitimate failure to comply with election equipment and acts of obstruction.
Former Trump lawyers John Eastman and Giuliani, as well as former White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows, are among those indicted. The indictment also included 30 additional unindicted co-conspirators in addition to the co-defendants.
Trump now faces 91 counts in four separate indictments as he runs for president in 2024. The former president denies wrongdoing and has criticized the cases as politically motivated.