NOS Police stop media at the driveway of the Fulton County Jail
NOS Nieuws•vandaag, 01:17
It is no longer possible to get close to the Fullton County jail where Donald Trump and eighteen others must report to voluntarily surrender to justice. They are expected there before 12 noon on August 25. Incoming journalists are kept at a distance and they cannot get much further than the beginning of the driveway.
While in prison, the former president and the others, including his former lawyer Rudy Giuliani, are charged with conspiracy to manipulate Georgia’s 2020 election results. Fingerprints are also taken. None of them have yet indicated when they will be coming to prison, but if they do not appear, they run the risk that an arrest team will be sent to apprehend them.
US correspondent Marieke de Vries:
A reporter from a local news station said that the prosecutor in this case wants to show the people of Georgia that she is transparent. She is also currently campaigning for re-election next year.
That is why she expects that the media may come closer if the suspect is led inside to make images of it. Cameras will also be allowed in the courtroom when the case starts.”
In addition, there is a chance that, among other things, a police photo (mugshot) is taken from Trump, something that has not happened in previous arraignments. Earlier, in New York and Miami, it was decided that the former president did not have to be photographed. Fingerprints were taken there, but an archive photo was used for the file. According to his lawyer Alina Habba, taking a picture was not necessary because Trump “has the most famous face in the world right now”.
No exceptions?
The local sheriff has already hinted that it will not make any exceptions for public figures. That would mean that Trump might be handcuffed and that his photo would still have to be taken. But his legal team may still put a stop to that or the national security services determine that it is not safe enough for the former president to come to prison.
The question is whether Trump will mind if a mug shot is taken. His campaign team previously made a photoshopped police photo of the former president that was used to raise funds. Meanwhile, social media is already pre-sorted for a possible police photo. Artificial intelligence (AI) and Photoshop often create images of mugshots of the president, which are then eagerly shared by supporters and opponents. The fake mugshots are not new. Many fake pictures also came out during previous arraignments.
Republican Michael Steele, an opponent of Trump, shared this fake photo on X yesterday:
XA fake police photo AI-created of Trump
After the fingerprints are taken, the suspects are told what they are accused of in court, which is located in downtown Atlanta, and given the opportunity to plead guilty or not guilty. Whether they will be physically present or attend this session virtually is still unclear.
Correspondent DeVries:
“The American secret service will now assess whether the building in the city center is safe enough for the former president. In any case, he was there in Miami and New York. In Miami, he even turned it into a campaign outing. He seizes moments like this to put his own spin on these criminal cases by making it clear that he thinks this is a political witch hunt.”
2023-08-16 23:17:07
#Tight #security #prison #Trump #report
