What to Know in Washington: Trump Uses Mugshot as Rallying Cry

Donald Trump, along with his 18 alleged co-conspirators, has turned himself in at the Fulton County Jail in Atlanta over state charges that he conspired to overturn the result of the 2020 presidential election in Georgia.

It’s the fourth time the former president has been processed as a criminal defendant this year.

Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis indicted the group on Aug. 14, alleging they violated Georgia’s racketeering law by participating in a “criminal enterprise” to keep Trump in office after he lost the election. The district attorney has said that all the defendants will be arraigned starting as soon as Sept. 5 in Atlanta, setting the stage for a series of remarkable court appearances.

Trump was in the jail for roughly 20 minutes. He was assigned inmate number P01135809. He also had a mug shot taken, the first for the former president, which was released about an hour after he left the jail.

Photographer: Fulton County Sheriff’s Office via Getty Images

Trump poses for his booking photo at the Fulton County Jail

After his booking, Trump’s motorcade returned him to the airport.

“What has taken place here is a travesty of justice,” Trump, 77, said after just before getting back on his private airplane. “We did nothing wrong. I did nothing wrong. And everybody knows it.”

Earlier in the day, before Trump departed New Jersey, he took to social media to disparage Willis and the city of Atlanta. He also falsely claimed there is “IRREFUTABLE” evidence that the election was rigged. Neither Trump nor his allies have ever produced such evidence. Republican officials in Georgia and in Trump’s own administration all concluded the vote was fair.

He is already facing a similar election-fraud case in Washington federal court and unrelated criminal charges in New York and Florida. But he wasn’t required to report to a detention facility for booking until now. Read more from Erik Larsen.

• Trump posted his own mug shot in a return to Elon Musk’s X, which was formerly known as Twitter. In his first post since 2021, Trump displayed the mug shot taken at the Fulton County Jail, along with the words “ELECTION INTERFERENCE NEVER SURRENDER!” and a link to a political fundraising page. Read more.

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To contact the reporter on this story: Katrice Eborn in Washington at keborn@bgov.com

To contact the editor responsible for this story: Brandon Lee at blee@bgov.com