ATLANTA (LifeSiteNews) — Former U.S. President Donald Trump was officially booked into the Fulton County, Georgia jail on Thursday evening after voluntarily surrendering in response to a slew of felony charges connected to his alleged efforts to overturn the 2020 presidential election in Georgia. Shortly thereafter, Trump posted on Twitter/X for the first time since 2021 to share an image of his mugshot along with a defiant message.
According to a booking record from the Fulton County Sheriff’s Office, Trump was booked Thursday and formally charged with 13 felonies for his actions with regard to Georgia in the immediate aftermath of the 2020 election.
🚨 BREAKING: Donald Trump has been booked into Fulton County Jail pic.twitter.com/Qqk8T1CwVA
— Benny Johnson (@bennyjohnson) August 24, 2023
Those alleged crimes include: three counts of Solicitation of Violation of Oath by Public Officer; two counts each of Conspiracy to Commit Forgery in the First Degree, Conspiracy to Commit False Statements and Writings, and False Statements and Writings; and one count each of Violation of the Georgia RICO Act, Conspiracy to Commit Impersonating a Public Officer, Conspiracy to Commit Filing False Documents, and Filing False Documents.
Trump’s mugshot was taken during the booking process, a controversial move that many conservatives have decried as unnecessary. The unprecedented event spurred Trump’s return to Twitter/X for the first time since he was banned following the disturbance at the U.S. Capitol on January 6, 2021.
In a Thursday night post on the platform, Trump vowed never to “surrender,” calling his indictment and arrest a form of “election interference.”
https://t.co/MlIKklPSJT pic.twitter.com/Mcbf2xozsY
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) August 25, 2023
Meanwhile, President Joe Biden’s Twitter/X account posted a message asking for donations to the Biden 2024 campaign because, “Apropos of nothing, I think today’s a great day to give to my campaign.”
Trump was released on $200,000 bond following the brief booking process.
Speaking to reporters outside Atlanta Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport, Trump said it was “a very sad day for America.”
“You should be able to challenge an election,” he said. “I thought the election was a rigged election, a stolen election, and I should have every right to do that.”
As LifeSiteNews previously reported, the Fulton County grand jury turned in its 98-page indictment on August 14, charging Trump and 18 associates in connection with Trump’s alleged attempts to pressure Georgia officials into tilting the 2020 election results in his favor. His supporters have argued that that claim is inaccurate and that Trump simply sought to identify and toss out illegal ballots.
READ: Georgia grand jury indicts Trump, 18 allies on ‘racketeering’ charges
Prosecutors utilized a racketeering statute (RICO) that the Associated Press has noted is “normally associated with mobsters” to bring the charges.
In addition to Trump, the other individuals charged in the indictment are: Sidney Powell, Jenna Ellis, Mark Meadows, Rudy Giuliani, John Eastman, Ken Chesebro, Jeffrey Clark, Ray Stallings Smith III, Robert Cheeley, Mike Roman, David Shafer, Shawn Micah Tresher Still, Stephen Lee, Harrison Floyd, Trevian Kutti, Cathleen Latham, Scott Hall, and Misty Hampton.
Mugshots of Trump’s allies have gone viral on social media this week, with conservative commentators sharing a general consensus that American politics have taken a novel and dangerous turn.
In an official statement at the time of the indictment, Trump’s campaign said the fourth and latest indictment is “un-American and wrong,” arguing that it presents “a grave threat to American democracy.”