Trump to report to Fulton County jail today for election indictment: Live updates

While Trump was getting photographed, here’s what Biden was up to

Current U.S. President Joe Biden has consistently avoided commenting on his likely 2024 election opponent’s indictments, and he continued that approach Thursday night:

Marjorie Taylor Greene still does not know what ‘communism’ is

I’m starting to get the feeling that the congresswoman from Georgia has never read “Das Kapital,” let alone the “Communist Manifesto.” Because I can assure you, the mug shot of a former president, taken as he is processed by a criminal justice system set up in a democratic state does not fit into any definition of “communism” that I’ve ever seen.

These 7 defendants have until noon tomorrow to surrender

With Trump’s booking, that makes 12 of the 19 co-defendants named in the Fulton County indictment who have surrendered for processing. The other seven now have a little over 12 hours to do so before warrants are issued for their arrest. Here’s who’s left:

Rachel Maddow: Do not take this mug shot lightly

Aug. 25, 202302:12

On tarmac, Trump trots out same old false equivalence

Aug. 25, 202304:26

Speaking at Hartsfield-Jackson airport in Atlanta, after being booked in the Fulton County jail, Trump repeated what’s been the go-to defense for him and his supporters.

“When you challenge an election you should be able to challenge an election,” he said, adding: “And I should have every right to do that. As you know, you have many people that you’ve been watching over the years do the same thing, whether it’s Hillary Clinton or Stacey Abrams or many others.”

Of course, neither Clinton nor Abrams nor anyone else in modern American history has sought to overturn the Electoral College. No one else has encouraged officials to create alternate slates of so-called fake electors. No one else has asked the governor of a state to “find 11,780 votes.” No one else pressured a vice president to intervene in the electoral vote count. And no one else encouraged his supporters to come to Washington the day of the count and then sat on his hands for hours after they invaded the Capitol.

Other than those and many other differences, though, it’s “the same thing.”

Here’s Trump’s mug shot

The Fulton County Sheriff’s Office has released Trump’s mug shot.

Yikes: There was a bomb threat at the Fulton County courthouse

The Fulton County Sheriff’s Office confirmed to NBC News that there was a bomb threat called in against the county courthouse this evening. It doesn’t seem like there’s been anything found, but still a major yikes given the other threats against judges and the like we’ve seen in recent weeks. (And it’s worth noting that Trump was at the county jail today, not the courthouse.)

The lack of pro-Trump trouble shows why these indictments are important

As my colleague Hayes Brown noted, once again security measures around a Trump indictment went untested (fortunately). In each instance, turnout for pro-Trump protests has fallen short of expectations. To be clear, prominent MAGA personalities have called for peaceful protests (though many did the same before Jan. 6, 2021).

But once again, pro-Trump diehards have also explained away low attendance by claiming that government agents would infiltrate pro-Trump protests in “false flag” operations to make the president’s supporters look bad.

In other words, the lack of protests has proved MSNBC columnist Frank Figliuzzi’s hypothesis from after Trump’s first indictment: “The high-profile prosecution of Jan. 6 rioters may be a deterrent to future violence.”

It’s not unreasonable to expect the indictments related to the 2020 election interference to have a similar effect — for now at least. Should Trump win in 2024, or somehow otherwise avoid conviction on any of these charges (always a possibility), then perhaps those who interfered in 2020 will be emboldened in the future. But for now, the most anti-democratic elements in American politics seem at least moderately cowed.

Once again, protests fizzle around a Trump indictment

It feels like this has become a pattern. Trump is indicted, he shows up to be processed, and outside there’s nothing but a handful of supporters to cheer him on.

His brief appearance in Georgia today has been no exception, with crowds smaller than those that turned out when he was arraigned in Florida, a much more favorable turf for him. So much for the chaos in the streets that Trump once promised should he ever be charged with a crime.

Beware of fake mug shots

It’s been confirmed Trump had his mug shot taken at the Fulton County jail tonight, but it’s not the one you might be seeing online right now. The sheriff’s office hasn’t yet released the photo to the public.

At least one fake mug shot of Trump has already begun circulating. One possible tell is to compare his suit and tie to confirmed images of Trump en route to the jail tonight. We’ll have the official mug shot as soon as it’s released here.

Trump’s fundraising pitch around Georgia arrest is a little different

Trump has predictably already sent out a fundraising appeal based on his surrender at the Fulton County jail tonight.

Most of the email sent from the Save America Joint Fundraising Committee, which raises money for both Trump’s presidential campaign and his PAC, is his typical kvetching about how unfair the system is to him before trying to get his supporters to fork over more cash. A good chunk of the loot funneled to his PAC will then be spent paying for Trump and his allies’ legal defense.

But there’s one line that stood out to me in this particular email: “If you are doing poorly due to the sinister people in control of our country right now, don’t even think about donating!”

Show more

The jail where Trump just surrendered is under a civil rights investigation

As MSNBC’s Rachel Maddow just mentioned on air, the jail where Trump was booked tonight is known for other not-so-laudable reasons. Last month, the Justice Department announced a civil rights investigation into the Fulton County jail.

Attorney General Merrick Garland said in a statement at the time, “We launched this investigation into the Fulton County Jail based on serious allegations of 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.” 

“In the last few weeks alone,” reports NBC News’ Rebecca Shabad, “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 inside a medical unit cell.”

One incident cited by the DOJ was the death of 35-year-old Lashawn Thompson in his cell, “covered in insects and filth.”

Of course, it’s incredibly unlikely that Trump caught a glimpse of those deplorable conditions. But it’s the closest he’s ever come to a dark reality too common in America’s carceral system.

Trump mug shot was taken, NBC News reports

Trump had his mug shot taken, a source familiar with the booking process told NBC News. A historic day for America indeed.

Minutes after arriving, Trump is booked and released

And just like that, the former president has been arrested for the fourth time. Trump already paid his $200,000 bond before arriving to jail. But just minutes after arriving to the jail, he was processed and quickly released.

He was likely fingerprinted, as he was for his other indictments. But it remains unclear whether a mug shot was taken like it has been for the other defendants in this case.