‘Very sad day for America’

Trump arrived at the prison a little after 7:30 p.m. (1:30 a.m. Belgian time on Friday morning). He was accompanied by Steven Sadow, his new lawyer, according to news channel CNN. Earlier in the day, Trump dismissed his chief attorney on the Georgia case, Drew Findling.

Trump had to leave his fingerprints and a police photo was also taken. The local sheriff had already indicated that he would treat Trump like any other defendant. For example, the Republican is both the first former president and the first presidential candidate with a so-called ‘mugshot’. He now also goes through life as detainee P01135809.

After half an hour Trump was outside again. He had previously agreed to pay a bail of $ 200,000 (approximately 185,000 euros) to be able to leave prison immediately. He also agreed to other conditions, such as a ban on social media attacks on his co-defendants and the witnesses in the case.

Trump was indicted by a grand jury on August 14 for forgery and racketeering. He and 18 others have been charged with allegedly attempting to manipulate the 2020 Georgia election results.

Trump back on X

Commenting on his arrest and release Thursday night in Georgia, Trump said it was a “very sad day for America that should never have happened.” Before he took off again by plane, the former president briefly addressed the press. “I did nothing wrong and everyone knows that,” he said, according to the American media. “It must be possible to contest an election. I believe the election was rigged.” He also called the charges against him and eighteen others “election interference”.

Trump also made himself heard online. After more than two years, he posted again on X, formerly Twitter. He posted his mugshot released Thursday after Trump turned himself in to authorities. Trump posted his mugshot with the date, August 24, 2023, and the words, “election interference” and “never surrender.” Trump also added his website to the post.