Former US President Donald Trump was arrested in Georgia on racketeering and conspiracy charges on Thursday. Released on $200,000 bond after historic mug shot. Accused of colluding with 18 others to overturn 2020 election result.
His mug shot was taken during booking - a first for any serving or former US president. He scowled in the released photograph. Trump, 77, expressed it as a “very sad day for America" to reporters. He even posted his police mugshot on social media platform X.
Trump faces numerous legal troubles as he seeks the Republican nomination to face Democratic President Joe Biden in the 2024 presidential election. The Republican frontrunner in the 2024 elections denies any wrongdoing.
https://t.co/MlIKklPSJT pic.twitter.com/Mcbf2xozsY— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) August 25, 2023
Here is a look at the Georgia election-tampering probe:
Trump on Aug. 15 was hit with a fourth set of criminal charges when a Georgia grand jury indicted him after an investigation by Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis into his efforts to overturn his 2020 election loss to Biden in the state.
The indictment lists 19 defendants and 41 felony counts in all. All were charged with racketeering, which is used to target members of organized crime groups and carries a penalty of up to 20 years in prison.
The indictment cites a number of crimes that Trump or his associates allegedly committed, including falsely testifying to lawmakers that election fraud had occurred and urging state officials to violate their oaths of office by altering the election results.
Prosecutors also cited the breach of a voting system in a rural Georgia county and the harassment of an election worker who became the focus of conspiracy theories.
Counts against Trump include violation of Georgia’s Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations (RICO) Act and conspiracy to commit forgery and conspiracy to commit impersonating a public officer.
Other defendants include Mark Meadows, Trump’s former White House chief of staff, and lawyers Rudy Giuliani, John Eastman and Sidney Powell.
(With Reuters inputs)