Trump arrested at the Fulton County Jail in Georgia: Highlights

Trump's motorcade arrived back at his golf club in Bedminster, New Jersey, around 11:20 p.m.

Shortly before he landed in Newark, New Jersey, Trump appeared for a roughly 25-minute phone interview on Newsmax, which in part detailed his experience surrendering in Fulton County.

"I came in, I was treated very nicely," Trump told Newsmax host Greg Kelly. "But it is what it is. I took a mug shot. I never heard the words 'mug shot'; that wasn't — they didn't teach me that at the Wharton School of Finance."

"It’s a very sad experience, and it’s a very sad day. For me, this is a weaponized Justice Department," he added.

Trump also defended Giuliani, who said after he surrendered yesterday that he had spoken with Trump by phone.

"He’s the one, and we all are the ones that question the election," Trump said. "The ones they should go after [are] the ones that rigged the election."

Trump also appeared to attack prosecutors, suggesting that those who brought the case were "animals" who were destroying the lives of his co-defendants, many of whom he claimed he did not know.

"These are animals. These are vicious animals that have destroyed the lives of these people," Trump said.

Trump's private plane landed at Newark Liberty International Airport in New Jersey around 10:30 p.m. ET.

He is expected to head back to his golf club in Bedminster, New Jersey.

Shawn Still, who is accused of participating in the fake elector scheme, asked a federal court to move his case out of the Georgia state court where Willis filed charges, becoming the latest in a series of the defendants to have made the same appeal.

Still, who is now a state senator, argues in a court filing that the charges against him relate to his role as a "contingent United States presidential elector."

"In that role, Mr. Still was, or was acting under, an officer of the United States," he argues.

Still faces seven counts: two of first-degree forgery, two of making false statements, one of violating the Georgia RICO Act, one of criminal attempting to commit filing false documents and one of impersonating a public officer.

Trump tonight returned to X, formerly known as Twitter, and posted his mug shot.

The post included a link to his website and reiterated his claims of "election interference." It was the same post he made to his Truth Social account this evening.

Trump last tweeted on Jan. 8, 2021. He was reinstated on Nov. 19, 2022, after Elon Musk took over the platform.

Read the full story here.

Trump is testing whether his recently released mug shot will translate into donations for his White House bid.

Tonight, he posted the mug shot to his Truth Social account with a link to his campaign fundraising website.

The Trump campaign is also selling T-shirts with his mug shot, captioned "NEVER SURRENDER!"

Sen. Tommy Tuberville, R-Ala., just said on Newsmax that he recognizes Trump's expression in his mug shot.

“I’ve seen President Trump with that look a couple times playing golf with him when he’s missed a putt or I’m beating him in a round of golf," Tuberville said.

Congressional allies of Trump's immediately capitalized on the release of his Fulton County Jail mug shot.

“This is the photo that will win the 2024 Presidential election,” Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Ga., posted on X.

“The 47th President of the United States,” Rep. Troy Nehls, R-Texas, similarly captioned the photo.

DeSantis is in Iowa, holding a campaign event at the Field of Dreams that coincided with Trump's Georgia arrest.

Asked about the split screen of him playing baseball while Trump was booked, the Florida governor responded: "Well, I’m glad I’m at the Field of Dreams. Happy to be here."

Authorities tonight released Trump's mug shot after his booking at the Fulton County Jail.

Trump's plane is wheels up in Atlanta.

He is headed back to Bedminster, New Jersey.

A fake mug shot of Trump began circulating on social media tonight during the brief 20 minutes the former president was inside the Fulton County Jail.

A photo of Trump, complete with the Fulton County Sheriff's Office watermark in the top left-hand corner, similar to the official mug shots, spread quickly on X, formerly known as Twitter. He's seen wearing a red, white and blue necktie against a blank gray background.

However, the photo was pulled from a Reuters photo taken Nov. 20, 2020, by Carlos Barria, NBC News confirmed. Internet sleuths were also quick to dispel the photo as real, because Trump was photographed today with a red necktie.

Other users have posted satirical or edited mug shots in anticipation of the official one.

The Fulton County sheriff confirmed to NBC News tonight that a mug shot of Trump was taken, and authorities released it later.

An aide traveling with Trump today characterized his mood this way: “He’s defiant.”

Actually.

The Florida governor is holding a campaign event at the Field of Dreams in Iowa, where he's pitching from the mound for kids. Here he is playing with his daughter:

Trump said in brief remarks at Atlanta's airport: "It's election interference. ... I want to thank you for being here. We did nothing wrong at all. And we have every right, every single right, to challenge an election that we think is dishonest. So we think it's very dishonest."

Trump's motorcade has arrived at the airport after he was booked at the Fulton County Jail.

The Fulton County Sheriff’s office responded to a bomb threat at the county courthouse, the sheriff told NBC News. K-9 units and police are en route.

This is not where Trump went, however. He was at the Fulton County Jail, not the courthouse.

Fulton County Sheriff Pat Labat tonight confirmed to NBC News that a mug shot was taken of Trump inside the jail.

The photo has not been released yet.

A Trump ally, Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Ga., posted an altered image made to look as though she had taken a Fulton County Jail mug shot. She reiterated that she stands with Trump.

Amy Kremer, an organizer of the "Stop the Steal" rally that preceded the Jan. 6 Capitol attack, posted a similar fake mugshot yesterday.

Trump's 20 minutes inside the Fulton County Jail is extremely unusual for people who are arrested here.

Even in the election interference case, it's unusual. Timing has ranged from under an hour for Giuliani to about 90 minutes for lawyer John Eastman. The process for a former president, however, was expected to be expedited.

Now that he has been released from custody, Trump will need to be arraigned later. Booking and arraignment in criminal cases operate separately in Fulton County. The sheriff’s office noted last week that some arraignments may be virtual, as dictated by Fulton County Superior Court Judge Scott McAfee.

In the meantime, Trump has been barred from doing anything a judge might view as an effort to intimidate co-defendants and witnesses or otherwise obstruct the administration of justice in the case.

The parties will put forward proposals for a trial date. Willis initially proposed a March 4 trial date, preceded by arraignments the week of Sept. 5. She moved that timeline up to Oct. 23 in a filing today. Trump has said he intends to file a motion to sever his case from those of any co-defendants demanding a speedy trial.

Republican members of Congress warned that the criminal justice system will be used to target candidates of both parties going forward following Trump’s surrender tonight.

“Those who decided to start using indictments, prosecutors & even mug shots as weapons in a political campaign have unleashed a destructive new era in American politics,” Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., wrote in a post to X.

Rep. Elise Stefanik of New York, the House Republican Conference Chair, said Biden “continues to illegally weaponize the government” against Trump, “his top political opponent for the White House."

Sen. Marsha Blackburn of Tennessee, who has endorsed Trump in 2024, posted on X that Willis’ actions “have set a very dangerous precedent in our nation.”

“Americans can see right through this sham indictment,” she said.

Trump's motorcade has left the Fulton County Jail. It had arrived at around 7:34 p.m. ET and left just over 20 minutes later.

The Fulton County Sheriff's Office took a mug shot of Trump when he was booked, according to a source familiar with the matter.

The photo has not been released yet.

The Fulton County Jail, where Trump is being booked tonight, has a long history of poor living conditions and violence.

The jail, which is near downtown Atlanta, has housed roughly 3,200 people over the last year. Sheriff Pat Labat has been outspoken about overcrowding at the largest jail in the Southeast.

In the last few weeks alone, several inmates have died, including a 40-year-old man who was found unresponsive in his cell and another man, 66, who was also found unresponsive in a medical unit cell.

Last month, the Justice Department announced it had opened a civil investigation into the conditions at the jail after officials said they had heard "credible allegations that an incarcerated person died covered in insects and filth, that the Fulton County Jail is structurally unsafe, that prevalent violence has resulted in serious injuries and homicides, and that officers are being prosecuted for using excessive force."

Attorney General Merrick Garland said in a statement that there were "unsafe, unsanitary living conditions at the jail, excessive force and violence within the jail, discrimination against incarcerated individuals with mental health issues, and failure to provide adequate medical care to incarcerated individuals."

Trump surrendered at the Fulton County Jail, where he will be booked and processed on charges of racketeering and conspiracy in relation to his effort to overturn the 2020 election.

Trump is accused of overseeing a multifaceted effort to overturn the results of the 2020 election and retain presidential power after his defeat, including in key states like Georgia. Trump has denied all wrongdoing and insists that prosecutions are politically motivated.

A bonding agent at Foster Bail Bonds in Lawrenceville, Georgia, confirmed that Trump used its services to post his bond ahead of his arrest in Georgia today.

Typically, the fee in Fulton County is 10%, said Lia Dean, the bonding agent, but she said she could not confirm the exact amount posted in this case.

Dean said Charles Shaw, the CEO of Foster Bail Bonds, is inside the Fulton County Jail, where Trump is set to arrive tonight.

Dean said that Foster has other clients/defendants from the same case, but she would not confirm specific names.

She said it has also had celebrity clients, including T-I, Rick Ross, Gucci Mane and Claud McIver, known as Tex McIver.

Trump's motorcade has arrived at the Fulton County Jail for his booking.

The former president landed in Atlanta around 7 p.m. ET. The trip from the airport to the jail took 18 minutes.

After he landed in Atlanta, Trump was greeted by his new attorney, Steven Sadow, according to a pool report.

Trump was also joined by Susie Wiles, Walt Nauta, Steven Cheung and Jason Miller.

Trump was seen descending the stairs of his private plane, signaling a "thumbs up" after he landed in Atlanta.

He climbed into a motorcade headed to the Fulton County Jail for his booking.

Trump has landed at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport, considered the world's busiest airport.

He will now head to the Fulton County Jail for his booking.

In what the DeSantis campaign may hope is a split-screen moment, the Florida governor is expected to play baseball soon at the baseball diamond on the set of "Field of Dreams" in Iowa.

A staffer for Never Back Down, the super PAC backing DeSantis, said he might speak to reporters after playing some catch.

Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Ga., has arrived outside the Fulton County Jail ahead of Trump's arrival for his booking.

Greene, one of Trump's biggest allies on Capitol Hill, joined pro-Trump protesters outside a Manhattan courthouse in April when the former president was arraigned in a hush money case there. She fled the scene that day amid a surge of counterprotesters.

The conservative network Newsmax is promoting, and Trump’s spokesman has confirmed, a conversation between Trump and host Greg Kelly following the former president’s booking tonight.

The live interview is scheduled to start at 9 p.m. ET.

U.S. District Judge Steve Jones today scheduled a Sept. 18 hearing to discuss defendant Jeffrey Clark's request to move his case to federal court.

The judge ordered the parties to meet at a federal courthouse in Atlanta for an evidentiary hearing involving the former Justice Department official, one of Trump's co-defendants.

Willis has until Sept. 5 to submit a response to Clark's removal notice.

Jones previously denied Clark's bid to delay his arrest in Fulton County. He rejected a similar effort by Trump White House chief of staff Mark Meadows.

Here are the mug shots of defendants who have surrendered in connection with efforts to overturn the 2020 presidential election results in Georgia.

See the full collection here.

The former president's plane has departed Newark Liberty International Airport in New Jersey en route to Atlanta, where he's expected to be booked tonight and released on a $200,000 bond.

The sheriff’s office has been ramping up security outside the Fulton County Jail throughout the day ahead of the former president's expected arrival.

From around 10:30 a.m., deputies put up new barricades across the street from the jail as several dozen Trump supporters — and a much smaller number of counter demonstrators — began gathering. Rice Street, which is near the jailhouse, was also shut down due to traffic.

Trump supporters milled about for much of the day in sweltering heat wearing MAGA hats and waving signs protesting the indictment.

“He’s being persecuted,” said Lyle Rayworth, from Carroll County, Georgia. “They impeached him twice. Now they’re trying to indict him four times. They’re trying to eliminate him from the ballot box.”

Kenneth Chesebro, the lawyer associated with Trump’s campaign who allegedly crafted the legal plan behind the so-called fake electors scheme, has a trial date set for Oct. 23, according to a court filing today.

Chesebro had filed a motion yesterday for a speedy trial, prompting Willis to move up her initial proposed start date of March 4, a day before Super Tuesday to October of this year. The October trial date applies only to Chesebro.

The district attorney’s office declined to comment on the new scheduling order.

In today's order, the judge also Chesebro's arraignment for Sept. 6, unless it's waived. Earlier this week, the same judge issued an order allowing video cameras and other electronic recording devices in the courtroom through Sept. 8.

Trump left his golf club in Bedminster, N.J., shortly before 4 p.m. ET to fly to Atlanta.

The former president has said he will surrender at the Fulton County Jail around 7:30 p.m. ET.

Harrison Floyd did not negotiate a bond agreement, so he is in custody at the Fulton County Jail, according to a news release from the sheriff's office.

Floyd is the only defendant booked so far who has not negotiated bond.

Mark Meadows, who also surrendered today, has been released because he previously worked out his bond agreement.

Trump said in a Truth Social post that his arrest time would be 7:30 p.m. He insulted Willis, calling her a "lowlife district attorney," and repeated false claims about the 2020 election.

Trump said that he opposes Willis' "motion for entry of pretrial scheduling order" after she proposed an Oct. 23 trial start date, according to a new court filing.

He also notified the court that he intends to file a motion to sever his case from Kenneth Chesebro or "any other co-defendant" who files a demand for a speedy trial.

"President Trump further respectfully puts the Court on notice that he requests the Court set a scheduling conference at its earliest convenience so he can be heard on the State’s motions for entry of pretrial scheduling order and to specially set trial," the filing said.

Eleven of the 19 defendants in the Georgia election case have now surrendered to authorities in Fulton County.

District Attorney Fani Willis has given all defendants until noon tomorrow to turn themselves in.

Here are the people who have already surrendered:

• Kenneth Chesebro, former Trump campaign attorney
• John Eastman, Trump-allied attorney
• Jenna Ellis, one-time Trump attorney
• Rudy Giuliani, former Trump attorney
• Mark Meadows, former White House chief of staff
• Harrison Floyd, former leader of Black Voices for Trump
• Scott Hall, 2020 Fulton County Republican poll watcher
• Cathy Latham, former leader of the Republican Party in Georgia’s Coffee County
• Sidney Powell, former member of Trump’s legal team
• David Shafer, fraudulent Republican elector
• Ray Smith III, attorney

Trump has said he will surrender today. Here are his co-defendants who have not surrendered:

• Robert Cheeley, Atlanta lawyer
• Jeffrey Clark, former U.S. assistant attorney general
• Misty Hampton, former Coffee County elections director
• Stephen Lee, Lutheran pastor from Illinois
• Michael Roman, former Trump staffer
• Shawn Still, fraudulent Republican elector
• Trevian Kutti, former publicist for Ye, the artist formerly known as Kanye West

Harrison Floyd, the director of Black Voices for Trump, has been booked in the county jail, records show.

Floyd is accused of conspiracy to solicit false statements and influencing witnesses.

Meadows, who served as White House chief of staff at the end of the Trump administration, was booked at the Fulton County Jail today after being charged with racketeering in the Georgia 2020 election investigation, jail records show.

Meadows, a former North Carolina congressman, faces two counts in the 41-count indictment, including violation of Georgia's RICO law and solicitation of violation of oath by a public officer. The judge set his bond at $100,000.

After he was charged last week alongside Trump and 17 other co-defendants, Meadows sought to move the Fulton County case to federal court, arguing that the charges filed by prosecutors involve actions he took while he served in the federal government.

His lawyers also argued that the allegations against Meadows are not “criminal per se,” and that the actions he took were normal for a White House chief of staff.

A federal judge in Georgia, however, denied Meadows’ bid to delay his arrest.

Trump has said he will surrender at the Atlanta jail today.

Fulton County Superior Court Judge Scott McAfee set former Justice Department official Jeffrey Clark's bond at $100,000.

Clark was charged in the racketeering case along with Trump and 17 others last week in connection with efforts to overturn the 2020 election.

The bond order comes after a federal court judge in Georgia denied Clark’s bid for an emergency stay of his Fulton County arrest warrant.

As assistant attorney general for the Justice Department’s civil division from September 2020 to January 2021, Clark helped promote Trump’s conspiracy theories about fraud in the presidential election. He was charged with violation of the Georgia RICO law and criminal attempt to commit false statements and writings.

In the indictment, prosecutors said Clark pushed to send out an official Justice Department letter falsely claiming that investigators had “identified significant concerns that may have impacted the outcome of the election in multiple States.” Trump supported Clark and planned to name him acting attorney general until he was threatened with mass resignations if he did so, according to the indictment.

Clark also appears to be among several unindicted co-conspirators in special counsel Jack Smith’s federal indictment against Trump over efforts to reverse the 2020 election results.

Trevian Kutti, former publicist for Ye, the artist formerly known as Kanye West, has agreed to a $75,000 bond.

Kutti faces three counts in the indictment: violation of Georgia’s RICO Act, criminal conspiracy and influencing witnesses. The bond amount for those charges are $45,000, $10,000 and $20,000, respectively.

Weeks after the 2020 election, Kutti traveled to the suburban home of Ruby Freeman — a Georgia election official who received death threats after she was baselessly accused by Trump and his allies of manipulating votes — in an attempt to pressure her into confessing to Trump’s unsubstantiated voter fraud allegations.

The Fulton County district attorney has asked the court to set Oct. 23 as the trial start date for all 19 defendants, according to a new court filing.

Willis had initially sought to have the trial start in early March 2024, but changed her requested date after Kenneth Chesebro, one of the defendants, yesterday filed a request for a speedy trial.

In a statement, Chesebro’s lawyers, Scott Grubman and Manny Arora, said of Willis' request that their client "will be prepared to move forward with trial for whatever date the Court ultimately sets.”

Meadows, former Trump White House chief of staff, has agreed to a $100,000 bond.

Meadows faces two counts in the Fulton County indictment: violating Georgia’s RICO Act and solicitation of violation of oath by a public officer, according to court documents. The bond amount for those counts are $80,000 and $20,000, respectively.

After he was charged with Trump and 17 other co-defendants last week, Meadows sought to move his case to federal court, arguing that the charges in the indictment pertain to actions he took while he served in the Trump administration.

As of 12:15 p.m., there are still no new surrenders of co-defendants, jail records show.

The Fulton County district attorney has subpoenaed Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger and his former lead investigator, Frances Watson, to testify at a hearing Monday for Meadows’ effort to move his case to federal court.

Both subpoenas were hand delivered today, according to the court filings. Monday's hearing takes place at 10 a.m.

A spokesperson for Raffensperger’s office has declined to comment on the subpoena.

In the aftermath of the 2020 election, Trump had called Raffensperger to say he wanted "to find 11,780 votes, which is one more than we have."

After Trump surrenders to Fulton County authorities today, the former president will be released from custody in Georgia under an already agreed-upon set of conditions, including a $200,000 bond.

As part of the conditions, Trump will be prohibited from doing anything a judge could interpret as an effort to intimidate co-defendants or witnesses or “otherwise obstruct the administration of justice.”

Read more about what happens if he violates those terms.

After basking 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 ahead of his expected surrender in the Georgia election interference case is an FBI setup.

The rally, promoted by the far-right activist Laura Loomer, is anticipated to take place at 10 a.m. ET today, when 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,” one social media user with the display name “Ultra Maga” wrote.

Read the full story here.

Eight underdog Republican presidential candidates debated last night on a stage overshadowed by Trump, who snubbed his rivals in an attempt to show his dominance — and consign them to irrelevancy.

While some took aim at Trump, his nearest rivals either defended him or trod cautiously around the former president as he faces four criminal indictments involving his alleged attempt to overturn the 2020 election, misuse of classified documents and falsification of business records to make hush money payments to a porn star.

There was little reason to believe the debate would shake up the fundamental dynamic of the Republican primary campaign: Trump’s dominance. Heading into the evening, he was winning 52% of GOP voters in national polls, according to the FiveThirtyEight average. His top-polling rival, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, was far behind, with 15%. Nobody else reached double digits.

Read the full story here.

House Judiciary Committee Chair Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, is demanding information from Willis related to her investigation.

In his letter to Willis, obtained by NBC News, Jordan requests specific information related to her probe, including whether she coordinated any of her efforts with special counsel Jack Smith, who has also brought charges against Trump for his attempts to overturn the 2020 presidential election.

“There are questions about whether and how your office coordinated with DOJ Special Counsel Jack Smith during the course of this investigation, Congress has an interest in any such activity that involves federal law enforcement agencies and officials that fall under its oversight,” Jordan wrote.

Jordan demanded Willis turn over all documents and communications:

• referring or relating to the DA’s office’s receipt and use of federal funds
• between or among the DA’s office and the DOJ and its components, including but not limited to the office of the special counsel, referring or related to her office’s investigation of Trump or the 18 co-defendants in the special counsel’s indictment of the former president
• between the DA’s office and any federal executive branch officials regarding Willis’ investigation of Trump or the 18 co-defendants in the special counsel’s indictment of the former president

Jordan’s request follows a similar pattern that he employed shortly after Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg brought charges against Trump. Jordan also requested documents from Bragg, and demanded specific information into how federal funds may have been used to conduct the investigation into Trump.

There are 10 defendants who still haven't surrendered. Willis has warned that if individuals don't surrender by noon tomorrow, she will issue arrest warrants.

Here’s who they are:

• Donald Trump
• Mark Meadows
• Jeffrey Clark
• Robert Cheeley
• Michael Roman
• Shawn Still
• Stephen Lee
• Harrison Floyd
• Trevian Kutti
• Misty Hampton, aka Emily Misty Hayes

Trump's new lawyer, Steve Sadow is a prominent defense attorney in Atlanta and had previously been critical of Willis' use of the racketeering law.

In an article from March 2021 about the possibility that Willis could charge Trump, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution quoted Sadow as saying “I think it’s been overused for quite a long time."

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution continued:

Sadow said if Willis goes for RICO charges, she would be able to pursue potential evidence from outside of Georgia in an attempt to prove a wider conspiracy.

“She can make it as broad as she wants,” he said. “There’s just no limit to it.”

Trump has replaced attorney Drew Findling and will use attorney Steven Sadow to handle his arrest and processing today in Atlanta, a source with direct knowledge of the matter tells NBC News.

Findling could not immediately be reached for comment. 

Sadow confirmed he is now representing Trump in a statement 

“I have been retained to represent President Trump in the Fulton County, Georgia case," he said in the statement. "The president should never have been indicted. He is innocent of all the charges brought against him, we look forward to the case being dismissed or, if necessary, an unbiased, open minded jury finding the president not guilty. Prosecutions intended to advance or serve the ambitions and careers of political opponents of the president have no place in our justice system.”

Rudy Giuliani, a Trump lawyer who championed the former president’s bogus election fraud claims, turned himself in to authorities in Georgia yesterday to face racketeering charges alleging he meddled in the state’s 2020 presidential election.

He was booked at the Fulton County Jail in the midafternoon. A judge signed off on a $150,000 bond agreement Giuliani’s lawyers worked out with prosecutors.

Giuliani was indignant about the charges as he left the jail, telling a crush of reporters that Willis “will go down in American history as having conducted one of the worst attacks on the American Constitution ever when this case is dismissed.”

Read the full story.