Trump to Surrender at Fulton County Jail at 7:30 p.m.
Former President Trump Faces Arrest in Atlanta
ATLANTA–While basking in the afterglow of his popular interview with Tucker Carlson, former President Donald Trump announced Thursday afternoon: “But please excuse me, I have to start getting ready to head down to Atlanta, Georgia…arrest time: 7:30 p.m.”
In a post on Truth Social, the former president said there was an absurdity in facing arrest in a city where murder and violent crime rates are among the nation’s highest. Yet President Trump said he must submit to arrest “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!”
He and 18 co-defendants are accused of “conspiring” to break Georgia’s election laws by knowingly making false claims of election fraud in the aftermath of the 2020 election, which ended with Democrat Joe Biden being declared the winner.
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President Trump said that his interview with Mr. Carlson, which aired on X, formerly known as Twitter, attracted more than 200 million views, drawing attention away from the GOP presidential debate that he skipped. Eight of his rivals appeared in a live broadcast on Fox News during the same time slot that Mr. Carlson broadcast his episode with President Trump on X. That platform counts a “view” as anytime a user sees the post, regardless of whether they watched the video.
The former president called the show “the biggest video on social media ever.”
Crowd Awaits Arrival
Meanwhile, the Fulton County Jail buzzed with spectators outside.
Crowds began gathering very early on Thursday in anticipation of the former president’s historic trip to have a mugshot taken–a first in U.S. history.
The former president has made the history books repeatedly as he has been investigated and cleared of wrongdoing, including during two failed impeachment attempts. However, he now faces four criminal indictments, including the latest one that accuses him of 11 election-meddling offenses in Georgia. In his three earlier indictments, authorities did not require the former president take a mugshot.
Trump Supporters Gather
As the day wore on, word spread that a notice from the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) suggested that the former president would not likely arrive until evening.
The FAA has ordered “temporary flight restrictions for VIP movement” in the Fulton County area. The notice forbids any pilot from operating aircraft in the designated space from 6:45 p.m. Eastern on Aug. 24 until 1 a.m. Eastern on Aug. 25.
Before 7 a.m., parking was already at a premium outside the jail as news crews and demonstrators gathered to await President Trump.
Since Aug. 23, many of the former president’s alleged co-conspirators have been booked and released on bond from the jail.
By about 7:15 a.m., about 20 supporters of the former president, carrying placards and wearing T-shirts with the slogan, “Blacks for Trump,” showed up. They chanted, “Trump, Trump, Trump!”
One of the protesters, who is known as “Michael the Black Man” on various radio stations and has been a fixture at Trump rallies for years, took aim at Ms. Willis, who is also black.
He accused her of being motivated by the laws allowing the state to seize defendants’ assets.
Also present were a few protesters carried signs supporting Ms. Willis’ prosecution of the former president, with slogans such as “Fani Willis Will Bring Trump Down” and “Do Not Let Trump Get Away With Organized Crime.”
Janelle Clodfelter of Duluth, Georgia, wearing a “Defund the Media” T-shirt, said she wasn’t part of an organized group. She just came because she loves Trump and is opposed to “political persecution.”
One demonstrator shouted ab
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