Rudy Giuliani and Sidney Powell surrender in Georgia ahead of Trump's upcoming arrest: Recap

After having basked in conspiracy theories about the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol, some Trump supporters are worried that a rally the former president is promoting outside the Fulton County Jail in Georgia ahead of his expected surrender in the state election interference case is an FBI setup.

The rally, promoted by the far-right activist Laura Loomer, is expected at 10 a.m. ET tomorrow, the day Trump has said he plans to turn himself in. Trump posted a link to a Newsweek article about the rally on his social media platform, Truth Social, as well as a screenshot of a Loomer post calling on Trump supporters to gather at the jail.

On both Truth Social and X, the Elon Musk-owned platform formerly known as Twitter, conservative users worried that undercover law enforcement officials and antifa activists were behind the rally, planning to use it as a “setup” to arrest Trump supporters.

“Watch out for the FBI and antifa/blm to stir up a riot,” a social media user with the display name “Ultra Maga” wrote.

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Amy Kremer, an organizer of the "Stop the Steal" rally on Jan. 6 who has not been indicted in the Fulton County case, posted a digitally altered image that adapts the style of the mug shots of defendants who have surrendered.

"I stand with my colleagues fighting for election integrity," Kremer wrote on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter.

She also repeated the lie that the 2020 election was stolen before she clarified that the image had been "photoshopped."

Giuliani today criticized plans to take a mug shot of Trump when he turns himself in tomorrow.

In a livestream on X, formerly known as Twitter, Giuliani said it was unnecessary to take a booking photo of someone as well-known as Trump.

"That's all done for ... political theater," said Giuliani, one of Trump's 18 co-defendants.

Giuliani's mug shot was released today after he surrendered at the Fulton County Jail.

Willis filed a response today to Meadows’ request to move his case to federal court, arguing that his alleged actions had violated the Hatch Act.

"Because the defendant faces charges that do not arise from conduct under the color of his office, and because he can offer no plausible federal defense, the State of Georgia respectfully requests that this Court remand the case to the Superior Court of Fulton County," Willis wrote in a 22-page filing. "Federal law prohibits employees of the executive branch from engaging in political activity in the course of their work."

Willis argued that Meadows' indictment "results directly from his disregard for the lawful scope of his official duties" and highlighted a clause in the Hatch Act, which prohibits federal employees from using their official authority or influence "to interfere with or affect the result of an election."

An attorney for Meadows didn't immediately respond to a request for comment tonight.

Meadows last week sought to move his case to federal court, citing a federal law that allows U.S. officers to remove civil actions or criminal prosecutions in state court for alleged actions taken “under color” of their offices to U.S. District Court.

Earlier today, a federal judge in Georgia denied Meadows’ bid to delay his arrest in Fulton County ahead of a hearing on the matter scheduled for Monday. Willis has given all 19 defendants until noon Friday to voluntarily surrender.

Aerial video appears to show Giuliani entering a building with a sign for A 2nd Chance Bail Bonds, a bail bond agency, the day he surrendered to Fulton County authorities.

William Prescott Floyd, who faces three counts in the Georgia election case, was charged in May with assaulting a federal officer, recently unearthed court documents show.

Floyd, who was charged alongside Trump with racketeering and also in connection with his conduct toward Fulton County election worker Ruby Freeman, was charged a few months back after a pair of FBI special agents served him a federal grand jury subpoena at his Maryland home.

The Washington Post first reported on Floyd’s alleged assault of the agent, who was reportedly delivering a subpoena in connection with special counsel Jack Smith’s election probe. Trump is the only defendant in Smith's election case indictment, which mentions six unindicted co-conspirators.

According to a criminal complaint filed in U.S. District Court for Maryland, special agents from the FBI’s Washington field office served Floyd a federal grand jury subpoena on Feb. 23, requiring him to appear before a federal grand jury in Washington, D.C.

An attorney for Floyd in the Maryland case and a spokesperson for the special counsel's office did not immediately respond to requests for comment tonight.

Floyd has yet to surrender in the Georgia case. Willis has given all 19 defendants until noon Friday to surrender voluntarily. Almost half of the defendants have surrendered.

Trump, the front-runner for the 2024 GOP presidential nomination, plans to skip tonight's presidential debate and counterprogram it from the safety and comfort of a taped interview with right-wing commentator Tucker Carlson. But the former president will very much be present in spirit.

His criminal indictments, including charges stemming from his efforts to overturn the 2020 election in his favor, have been a specter in the race. And questions about his character and fitness for office have bedeviled his rivals, all of whom were required to pledge loyalty to their party’s eventual nominee in exchange for a spot on the stage. (Trump has not signed the pledge.)

How Fox News moderators Bret Baier and Martha MacCallum handle the absent Trump will be one of several storylines to monitor. But with few exceptions, the GOP contenders have shown little appetite for taking him on directly.

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