The ex-President of the United States of America, Donald Trump, is slated for arrest on Thursday as he faces allegations of election racketeering. According to information from Naija Latest Gist, Trump is anticipated to turn himself in at the well-known Fulton County Jail in Atlanta today.
The 77-year-old former US president stands accused of collaborating with 18 co-defendants to overturn the outcome of the 2020 election in the crucial southern state—an assertion he has fervently denied. Reports from Daily Trust indicate that there is heightened security surrounding the Fulton County Jail in anticipation of Trump's arrival.
Notably, the facility is reportedly grappling with overcrowding issues and is currently under investigation by the Justice Department due to several inmate deaths and substandard living conditions.
Trump's impending booking, which might include the release of a mugshot for the first time, arrives shortly after his rejection of participating in a primary debate involving eight contenders vying for the 2024 Republican presidential nomination.
Fulton County Sheriff Pat Labat elucidated that the standard protocol in Georgia calls for a defendant to have their mugshot taken before being released on the established bond, in Trump's case, amounting to $200,000.
Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis, who initiated the broad racketeering case, has stipulated a noon deadline (1600 GMT) on Friday for Trump and the other 18 defendants to surrender.
However, specific timing for Trump's arrival has not been disclosed, although he had earlier announced via his Truth Social platform that it would be in the afternoon on Thursday.
"NOBODY HAS EVER FOUGHT FOR ELECTION INTEGRITY LIKE PRESIDENT DONALD J. TRUMP," he declared in capital letters. "FOR DOING SO, I WILL PROUDLY BE ARRESTED TOMORROW AFTERNOON IN GEORGIA," he emphasized.
Trump is poised to encounter four criminal trials in the coming year. He has brushed aside the four criminal charges against him as "nonsense," asserting that the Justice Department has been "weaponized" under Democratic President Joe Biden to undermine his White House aspirations.
Special counsel Jack Smith has proposed commencing Trump's trial in Washington in January 2024, focusing on allegations of conspiring to subvert the 2020 election—an untruthful campaign that climaxed with the January 6, 2021, assault on the US Capitol by his supporters.
In response, Trump's legal team has proposed an April 2026 trial commencement date, well after the 2024 election.
US District Judge Tanya Chutkan is set to conduct a hearing on Monday, during which she is expected to designate a date for the unprecedented criminal trial of a former president.