LIVE Donald Trump indictment live: Former US president booked on 13 charges connected with 2020 election

By North America bureau chief Jade Macmillan and Brad Ryan in Atlanta, North America correspondent Barbara Miller, Nelli Saarinen and Georgie Hewson

Posted 4h ago4 hours ago, updated 1m ago1 minutes ago

The 45th US president has been formally charged on 13 counts by authorities in Georgia over alleged interference in the state’s 2020 election results. Follow live.

It marks the fourth indictment against Donald Trump, and the second to arise over his alleged efforts to overturn his loss to Joe Biden.

Follow live.

Key events

• 5m ago5 minutes agoTrump is addressing media from the airport after leaving Fulton County Jail
• 9m ago9 minutes agoTrump arrives back at Atlanta airport
• 23m ago23 minutes agoTrump has been booked

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Live updates

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KEY EVENT

Trump is addressing media from the airport after leaving Fulton County Jail

5m ago

By Georgie Hewson

(ABC News)

Trump is speaking to the media on the tarmac. 

“I believe it is a very sad day for America which should never happen,” he says.

He stresses he has “done nothing wrong”.

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KEY EVENT

Trump arrives back at Atlanta airport

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9m ago

By Chloe Ross

Trump’s motorcade has arrived back at the airport.

It is currently on the tarmac by Trump Force One.

He arrived just after 8pm local time.

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KEY EVENT

Trump has been booked

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23m ago

By Barbara Miller

As the motorcade rolls back towards Atlanta airport jail records confirm Donald Trump has been booked on 13 charges.

The charges are:

• Violation of Georgia Rico (Racketeer Influenced And Corrupt Organisations)
• Solicitation of Violation of Oath by Public Officer
• Conspiracy to Commit Impersonating a Public Officer
• Conspiracy to Commit Forgery in the First Degree
• Conspiracy to Commit False Statements and Writings
• Conspiracy to Commit Filing False Documents
• Conspiracy to Commit Forgery in the First Degree
• Conspiracy to  Commit False Statements and Writings
• Filing False Documents
• Solicitation of Violation of Oath by Public Officer
• False Statements and Writings
• Solicitation of Violation of Oath by Public Officer
• False Statements and Writings

There are more than one charge for some of the types of offences.

The records put his height at 6’3” (1.92m) and his weight at 215lbs (97.5kg).

The former US president’s hair colour, if you were wondering, is described as “blond or strawberry”.(Fulton County Sheriff’s Office)

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KEY EVENT

Trump inside Fulton County Jail

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43m ago

By Barbara Miller

Donald Trump has now arrived at Fulton County Jail to be booked in a sprawling case on 13 charges including racketeering, making false statements and solicitation of the violation of oath by a public officer.

Choppers are in the air, but an awning obscures the entrance where we assume the former president has now entered the building.

He’ll now, we expect, be fingerprinted and have his mugshot taken. And if the experience of the other co-defendants is anything to go by, it won’t be too long before that is made public.The vehicle carrying former president Donald Trump (right) arrives at the Fulton County Jail(AP: Alex Brandon)

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KEY EVENT

Donald Trump has arrived at the Atlanta Jail

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49m ago

By Barbara Miller

(ABC News Channel)

Donald Trump’s motorcade has now arrived at the Fulton County Jail for what will be yet another historic moment in his post-presidency.

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KEY EVENT

The mood here has become noticeably more tense in the last 10 minutes or so

50m ago

By Brad Ryan

(ABC News: Brad Ryan)

We had several black cars come past, motorcade style, and a black helicopter is circling overhead.

People are lining the barricades, expecting Trump’s arrival soon.

At one point, a group of them started chanting “lock Fani up”, referring to the local prosecutor, Fani Willis.

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Donald Trump is flanked by security as he prepares to surrender to police

51m ago

By Bridget Judd

We’re expecting the former president to arrive at Fulton County Jail shortly.(Reuters)(Reuters)

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KEY EVENT

Donald Trump’s motorcade rolls towards Georgia jail

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1h ago

By Barbara Miller

Donald Trump’s now heading towards the Fulton County Jail to surrender in what’s his fourth criminal indictment.

We’ve seen this movie a few times before this year, but the images of a former president heading to be booked are still shocking.

Since a bond has already been negotiated ahead of his appearance for $US200,000 ($310,000), proceedings at the jail are expected to be quick, in the order of 20 minutes all up.

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Who has surrendered so far

1h ago

By Georgie Hewson

There are 18 other co-defendants in the 2020 Georgia election subversion case.

We know that 11 have so far surrendered to Fulton County Sheriff’s Office.

The order of mugshots is:

• Attorney Sidney Powell, who played a leading role in promoting Trump’s false fraud claims
• Trump campaign attorney Kenneth Chesebro, indicted for allegedly helping to devise a plan to submit fake slates of electors for Trump to obstruct the congressional certification
• Former Georgia Republican party leader Cathy Latham
• Former Georgia Republican party leader David Shafer
• One time attorney for Trump Jenna Ellis
• Ray Smith, a lawyer who previously represented Trump in Georgia
• Harrison Floyd, leader of Black Voices for Trump
• Scott Hall, Republican poll watcher
• Rudy Giuliani, Trump’s personal lawyer and former New York Mayor
• John Eastman, former lawyer to Trump
• Mark Meadows, former Whitehouse chief of staff 

Some defendants have attempted to avoid turning themselves in, such as former justice department official Jeffrey Clark.

The defendants have until Friday at Noon to turn themselves in.

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Trump claims arrest will be televised

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1h ago

By Barbara Miller

In an email to supporters timed to coincide with his arrival in Atlanta, Donald Trump has claimed proceedings today at Fulton County Jail will be broadcast.

“A judge has ruled that cameras may be allowed inside the jail so that my sham arrest can be televised for the entire world to see,” he writes in the fundraising mail.

While Georgia courts, unlike federal courts, do allow cameras into trials, it’s not at all clear that we’ll see images of his booking today.

For the co-defendants in the Atlanta election interference case who have turned themselves in so far, only a mugshot has been made public following the booking.

The ABC’s North America bureau chief Jade Macmillan has more on what we can expect 👇

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KEY EVENT

Trump has touched down in Atlanta

1h ago

By Georgie Hewson

(Reuters)

Donald Trump has arrived in Atlanta from Newark airport.(Reuters)

He’s expected to arrive at the Fulton County Sheriff’s Office at about 9:30am AEST. 

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US representative Marjorie Taylor Greene has arrived at Fulton County Jail

1h ago

By Brad Ryan

She spoke to the media near the entrance of the building.

We’re expecting the former US president to turn himself in to be processed within the next hour.
(ABC News: Brad Ryan)

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It’s sweltering in Atlanta, but that hasn’t stopped supporters from turning out

1h ago

By Brad Ryan

It’s been a long, hot day for many of the people gathered in the sunshine outside the Fulton County Jail.

Temperatures in Atlanta have been hovering above 30C since early in the morning.

One man is being attended to by officers from the sheriff’s department after passing out on the grass.(ABC News” Brad Ryan)

People are using protest signs to fan him down.

It’s otherwise been uneventful here outside the jail, as supporters and protesters wait for Mr Trump’s arrival and reporters file updates to media outlets around the world.

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Trump runs down Atlanta

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1h ago

By Barbara Miller

In echoes of his comments surrounding indictment number three in Washington, DC, Donald Trump has taken the opportunity to run down Atlanta, the location of indictment number four.

In a post on his social media platform he asked: “Why is there so much MURDER in Atlanta?”

He then again singled out the prosecuting District Attorney Fani Willis, accusing her of failing to go after “real criminals”.

After his arraignment in a DC court just a few weeks ago in the January 6 case, Trump told reporters waiting at the airport that it was “very sad driving through Washington, DC, and seeing the filth and decay”.

It’s possible he’ll also make brief comments to travelling media before he leaves Georgia today, but that’s not been confirmed.(Truth Social )

By North America correspondent Barbara Miller

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Anti-Trump protestors outnumbered by supporters

1h ago

By Jade Macmillan

(ABC News: Jade Macmillan )

Anti-Trump protesters appear outnumbered by the former president’s supporters, but some have still turned out to get their messages across.

One woman, who didn’t want to be interviewed, held up signs for the cameras saying “Trump is a traitor” and “Fani Willis will bring Trump down”.

A lot of the media and members of the public here are packed into a fenced-off area across the road from one of the prison entrances.

It’s hot, crowded, and we’ve witnessed a couple of shouting matches between people on opposite sides.

But it doesn’t seem as though police have had to deal with any major dramas so far.

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Former inmate describes ‘f****d up’ conditions inside Fulton County Jail

1h ago

By Brad Ryan

(ABC News: Brad Ryan )

The Fulton County Jail has a notorious reputation in Atlanta, for being crowded, dirty, and sometimes violent.

In July, the state’s Justice Department began investigating claims it’s “structurally unsafe, that prevalent violence has resulted in serious injuries and homicides, and that officers are being prosecuted for using excessive force”.

Also under investigation are “credible allegations that an incarcerated person died covered in insects and filth”.

Trump’s not likely to spend much time inside today. His bail conditions have been pre-negotiated, and his allies who surrendered earlier in the week were generally in and out within a couple of hours.

But often when people are booked here, they spend the night in a cell. If they can’t afford bail, they can be inside for much longer.

After arriving in Atlanta, I encountered someone who said he’d experienced that first-hand – twice. ‘E’, as he introduces himself, says he spent a week inside in 2021 after being caught with a gun. And about six years ago, he spent two-and-a-half months in the prison over a robbery.

He says the conditions are “f***d up”, but he believes they’re probably no worse than most other prisons.

I ask him to describe his cell.

“It’s like a little bathroom with two beds in it and a window slot for food,” he says.

And what is the food like?

“Bullshit on sandwiches,” he says. “Nothing healthy. I wouldn’t give it to nobody on the street.”

The first time he was in jail, he spent a lot of time playing cards with other inmates. But the pandemic meant he spent a lot more time in his cell, unable to mix with other inmates, during his second stint.

“They don’t really got no outside. They got a gym on the inside, but that’s about it though.”

E’s now 32 and working as a barber. He says he’s no criminal, but he got mixed up with the wrong people when he was younger. He hopes to stay out of trouble and never go back.

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Supporter wants to show the world ‘there are minorities that support Trump’

2h ago

By Brad Ryan

(ABC News: Brad Ryan)

We’re outside the Fulton County prison in Atlanta, Georgia. Keisha Kennings made her way to here from Dallas, Georgia, a town about an hour north-west of the capital.

“I wanted to show my support. Let the world know that there are minorities that support Trump. He’s not the racist person that they claim,” she tells the ABC.

She’s not worried by the indictments — like most of the Trump supporters here today, she sees them as purely political.

She says her reasons for supporting Trump are because of his policies.

“I’m about policies,” she says.

“My life was more affordable under the Trump administration than it is right now.”

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KEY EVENT

Trial timings in discussion

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2h ago

By Barbara Miller

More on the fast-moving developments on the possible timing of a Georgia trial.

A judge has now approved an application from one of the defendants, lawyer Kenneth Chesebro, for a speedy trial, setting a start date of October 23.

It’s not clear what that will mean for the other defendants, who District Attorney Fani Willis has said she wants to try at the same time.

What does seem sure is that there will now be a flurry of legal filings as the lawyers for the 19 defendants in this case submit motions on why their client’s case should or shouldn’t be severed from the others.

An October start date would on the face of it seem very ambitious and Donald Trump’s lawyers have already indicated they oppose it.

By North America correspondent Barbara Miller

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Prosecutor seeks October trial date

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2h ago

By Barabara Miller

With so many defendants in this case, there are multiple motions being filed to the court.

District Attorney Fani Willis had initially flagged a March start date for the trial of Donald Trump and his 18 co-defendants, but after one of them, Kenneth Chesebro, asked for a speedy trial, an even earlier start is now in discussion.

Ms Willis, who has previously said she wants to try all 19 defendants together, has now proposed an October 23 start.

Donald Trump has already objected to that date in court filings.

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Trump’s Georgia timetable

2h ago

By Barbara Miller

Donald Trump is expected to be on the ground in Atlanta for about two hours all up.

He’s expected to travel from the airport by motorcade to be booked at the county jail.

His plane departed Newark later than initial guidance suggested.

It’s not clear if that will delay his expected arrest at 7:30pm (9:30am AEST).

Either way, the former US president has plenty of time to make the noon tomorrow local time deadline to surrender.

By North America correspondent Barbara Miller

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Updated 1m ago1 minutes ago