Donald Trump scowling mugshot released as ex-president arrested in Atlanta
Donald Trump's scowling police mugshot has been released as the ex-president surrendered at Fulton County jail in Georgia as he was booked on charges of trying to overturn his 2020 election loss in the state.
The photo instantly became part of the former president's legacy as he battles criminal charges in four American cities while seeking to reclaim the White House.
The ex-president can be seen furrowing his eyebrows as he frowned in the mugshot released by the Fulton County Sheriff’s Office just before 9pm. His intense expression is world's apart from other mugshots taken by other defendants - with many of them seeming calm or smiling.
(ENTERPRISE NEWS AND PICTURES)
David Shafer, former Georgia Republican Party Chairman, smiled in his (ENTERPRISE NEWS AND PICTURES)His aides swiftly seized on the image, fundraising off the first mug shot in American history of a former president as a representative of the persecution they contend Trump is encountering.
“There’s a power to the still image, which is inarguable,” said Mitchell Stevens, a professor emeritus at New York University who has written a book about the place imagery holds in modern society.
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“It kind of freezes a moment, and in this case it’s freezing an unhappy moment for Donald Trump,” Stevens said. “And it’s not something he can click away. It’s not something he can simply brush off. That moment is going to live on. And it’s entirely possible that it will end up as the image that history preserves of this man.”
It's the 77-year-old's fourth indictment - and immediately became one of the most significant to go down in history.
The former US president was indicted for a fourth time on Monday night and was given 10 days to turn himself in - before this evening waltzing into the Fulton County, Georgia, courthouse where he surrendered to arrest— and for the first time since his initial indictment was unsealed in March, the 77-year-old had a mugshot taken - becoming the first U.S president in history to do so.
The former president arrived at Atlanta airport on his private jet before quickly being transferred to the notorious Rice Street jail facility in Fulton County. Trump's booking record revealed authorities listed Trump as 6 foot 3 inches tall and weighing 215 pounds - which sparked relentless jokes on social media.
He was listed as having blue eyes and strawberry hair.
Legal procedure included Trump having his fingerprints and mugshot taken before paying bond to secure his release and his booking number is 313827.
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Donald Trump speaks to the media at Atlanta Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport (Getty Images)After a motorcade from the jail, Trump rambled in brief remarks at Atlanta's airport on his return: "What has taken place here is a travesty of justice. We did nothing wrong. I did nothing wrong, and everybody knows that. What they’re doing is election interference. We did nothing wrong at all, and we have every right, every single right, to challenge an election that we think is dishonest." He declined to answer shouted questions from the press, including about whether he would pardon himself if he is again elected president.
Just ahead of his jail booking, Trump issued an unhinged rant on his social media platform, Truth Social. The former President wrote: "But please excuse me, I have to start getting ready to head down to Atlanta, Georgia, where Murder and other Violent Crimes have reached levels never seen before, to get ARRESTED by a Radical Left, Lowlife District Attorney, Fani Willis, for A PERFECT PHONE CALL, and having the audacity to challenge a RIGGED & STOLEN ELECTION. THE EVIDENCE IS IRREFUTABLE! ARREST TIME: 7:30 P.M." [sic]
Later that night, he returned to X, the social media site formerly known as Twitter, firing off his first message in 2 1/2 years shortly after he surrendered at the Atlanta jail on charges he conspired to overturn his election loss.
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He posted a photo of his mug shot and the words, "Election interference. Never surrender!" along with a link to his website, which directs to a fundraising site.
Former U.S. President Donald Trump gives a thumbs up as he arrives at Atlanta Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport (Getty Images)It was Trump's first post since Jan. 8, 2021, when Twitter suspended his account indefinitely, citing fears he would incite additional violence following the deadly storming of the U.S. Capitol building.
His account was reinstated last November shortly after Elon Musk took over the company, but Trump had refrained from tweeting, insisting that he was happier on his own Truth Social site, which he launched during the ban.
Protests formed in the hours ahead of Trump's surrender, with crowds polarised in their positions on the unprecedented scenes unfolding. A group of Black supporters gathered outside the Fulton County Jail, chanting 'Trump Trump Trump'. Some members of the group waved placards reading 'Republicans are not racist' while many sported 'Blacks for Trump' T-shirts. Other counter-protests were held with crowds holding 'Convict Trump' signs.
People watch as the motorcade with former President Donald Trump travels to the Fulton County Jail (AP)This indictment charged the Republican, who is vying for another term as president in the 2024 election, and 18 of his allies with 41 different felony charges under RICO (the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organisation's Act), all related to their schemes to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election that awarded current President Joe Biden his tenure. It's the second of his four indictments that relates to fraud during that fateful election.
RICO makes it illegal to "acquire or maintain" an "enterprise" through "a pattern of racketeering activity or proceeds derived therefrom" or to conspire to do so. Racketeering refers to an organised, conceited effort to commit crimes or force others to do so — most usually crimes related to businesses or institutions, including the federal government.
Among those charged were former New York City Mayor and longtime Trump lawyer Rudy Giuliani, John Eastman and former White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows. Controversial rapper Kanye West's former publicist, Trevian C. Kutti, was also charged. Of the 41 total counts, 13 were directed specifically at the former president.
Former NYC Mayor Rudy Giuliani was among those charged Monday in the latest Trump indictment (AFP via Getty Images)A statute normally reserved for mobsters was brought forth in the case. The 97-page document reads: "Trump and the other defendants charged in this indictment refused to accept that Trump lost, and they knowingly and willfully joined conspiracy to unlawfully change the outcome of the election in favour of Trump."
It describes Trump and his co-conspirators as members of a "criminal organisation" — an "enterprise" that operated in Georgia and other states — therefore making them eligible for prosecution under RICO.
Georgia in particular was integral in the 2020 election in securing Biden his victory, as the margin of victory in that state was narrow. The state carries 16 electoral college votes, the eighth highest.
Trump posts his own mugshot with chilling message on Truth Social (@realDonaldTrump)Specifically, the indictment charges Trump and the others with election fraud, impersonating a public officer, violating an oath of office, forgery, filing false documents and numerous conspiracy charges, among others.
Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis said she would be requesting a trial date within the next six months — before the 2024 election. She's been working for two-and-a-half years to gather enough evidence for the indictment and has been investigating a series of phone calls, including a particularly damning one to Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger in 2021 that implied top election officials could "find 11,780 votes" laying around to give Trump the edge over Biden.
Rioters supporting President Donald Trump try to break through a police barrier at the Capitol in Washington (AP)Willis also looked into the harassment of local election workers by Trump supporters, a scheme by Trump allies to create a slate of fake electors, several false ballot fraud claims and a data breach at the Coffee County election's office.
Monday's indictment charges were read after a chaotic day in court in which prosecutors presented evidence to a grand jury and procured multiple former Georgia state officials, who testified as witnesses. The court's website initially had "fictitious" charges posted to it, which were later taken down and revised.
Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis worked for two-and-a-half years to bring charges against Trump (Getty Images)He quickly took to social media after the indictment, posting to his own Truth Social platform: "Would someone tell the Fulton County grand jury that I did not tamper with the election?" He also stated that he would "be happy" to speak with the grand jury about the charges.
This latest slew of charges against the businessman were brought at the state level, not the federal level, meaning he will be unable to dismiss them or pardon himself if he wins another term as president.
Supporters of Trump enter the US Capitol on January 6, 2021 (AFP via Getty Images)His campaign was also quick to respond to the charges, comparing Willis, a Democrat, to "Crooked Joe Biden" and accusing her of stalling the "un-American and wrong" investigation over two-and-a-half years in a ploy to "maximally" interfere with the 2024 presidential race. The statement ended by saying the former president would "never give up" and would keep campaigning to "Make America Great Again" in 2024.
On Tuesday, he promised to release what he called "irrefutable" evidence in the case, which he claimed would get all the charges against him and his 18 cronies dropped.
A number of Proud Boys were convicted of seditious conspiracy following the Capitol Riot (AFP via Getty Images)"A Large, Complex, Detailed but Irrefutable REPORT on the Presidential Election Fraud which took place in Georgia is almost complete & will be presented by me at a major News Conference at 11am on Monday of next week in Bedminster, New Jersey," he wrote on Truth Social. "Based on the results of this CONCLUSIVE Report, all charges should be dropped against me & others - There will be a complete EXONERATION!"
He claimed that Willis and other prosecutors only went after him and others who fought to "find the RIGGERS" in the election, not those he claimed actually rigged it.
Trump has begun fundraising for his re-election campaign following his fourth indictment and wrote in an email to his supporters: "I will NEVER surrender our country to these tyrants."
His campaign has been burning on lawyers representing the candidate and allies as he battles criminal charges in four jurisdictions. His political operation entered the second half of the year in a strained financial position with its bank account drained by tens of millions of dollars that were directed toward defending the former president from mounting legal challenges as he seeks the White House again.
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