Former President Donald Trump was arrested for the fourth time in Fulton County, Georgia. Trump turned himself in to be arraigned after he was indicted for trying to overturn the results of the 2020 election in Georgia on Thursday, Aug. 24, as reported by CNN. Moments later, Trump was released on a $200K bond. The news outlet reported that the former president was in jail for “about 20 minutes.”
Trump turned himself in after some of his co-defendants, including former NYC Mayor Rudy Giuliani, who was also Trump’s special counsel, surrendered for arrest on Wednesday, per The New York Times. Before the former president turned himself in, his bail was set at $200,000, per The Associated Press.
The former president was indicted by a grand jury in Fulton County, Georgia on Monday, Aug. 14. District Attorney Fani Willis had taken part in a two-year investigation to prove that Trump had allegedly tried to overturn the results of the 2020 election, after he lost to President Joe Biden. His charges included “False Statements and Solicitation of State Legislatures, high-ranking state officials, the creation and distribution of false electoral college documents, the harassment of election workers, the solicitation of Justice Department officials, the solicitation of then-Vice President Mike Pence, the unlawful breach of election equipment, and acts of obstruction,” according to CNN.
Trump and 18 other co-conspirators (including his attorney, former NYC Mayor Rudy Giuliani, and former White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows) were also charged with counts of racketeering in their alleged attempts to overturn the election.
Since the indictment was announced, Trump did call out Willis on his Truth Social platform. “Can you believe it? This failed District Attorney from Atlanta, Fani Willis, where murders and other violent crime soars daily to new record highs, is charging me with 2020 Presidential Election Interference. No, Fani, the only Election Interference was done by those that Rigged and Stole the Election. Those are the ones you should be going after, not the innocent people that are fighting for Election Integrity!” he wrote.
Trump is currently in the midst of a 2024 election campaign, and he has continually called the indictments against him a “witch hunt,” and has accused prosecutors of attempting to interfere with his campaign.
This marks the fourth time that the former president has been arrested and arraigned this year. This is the second time that he’s been arrested and charged on the state level. Trump’s arrest in Georgia comes four months after he was arrested in New York City in April. He was indicted on 34 counts of falsifying business records, including his alleged hush money payment to adult film star Stormy Daniels. Trump pleaded “not guilty” to the charges, and he’s also denied having an affair with Daniels.
Trump’s other two indictments were federal. He was first charged with 37 counts of mishandling classified documents in June. He was arraigned in Miami, Florida, where he pleaded “not guilty” to the charges and has denied any wrongdoing. At the beginning of August, he was indicted for his alleged attempt to overturn the results of the 2020 election, which led to the January 6 attack on the Capitol in 2021. He was arraigned in Washington D.C., where he once again pleaded “not guilty.”