USA: Donald Trump photographed in prison, first time in American judicial history

Covered face, furrowed brows, defiant gaze: On Thursday, Donald Trump was mug shot in an Atlanta jail, the first time in United States history for a former president. He managed to escape during three previous criminal charges, but the billionaire candidate accused of trying to manipulate the results of the 2020 presidential election has not smashed that cliché to potentially infamous effect.

This “mafshot”, made in the service of the sheriff of the capital of the state of Georgia, instantly hit the “A” of the American media and circled the social networks. Released on a $200,000 bail, the 2024 Republican presidential front-runner quickly left this Atlanta prison in a motorized convoy under tight security. Now he is “in the case” like any defendant prosecuted, with his detailed physical characteristics: height 1 meter 90 inches, weight 98 kg, Venetian blond hair. And registration number P01135809.

A very political procedure

Immediately after he had to go through this legal process and before boarding his private jet again, Donald Trump denounced the “simulacrum of justice” and “election interference” by the Georgia government that filed the allegations. “I didn’t do anything wrong,” calling into question the results of the 2020 presidential election, which was won by Joe Biden, assured the Republican tribune.

He himself then published a solemn photo, signing it like this: “Never give up! “which is an illustration of his desire to fight what he sees as an endless witch hunt orchestrated by the Democratic administration of President Biden.

Prior to Donald Trump, several of the former president’s 18 co-defendants this week passed through the Fulton County Jail, an overcrowded and notoriously unsanitary facility. On August 14, they were all charged with illegally trying to overturn the results of the 2020 election, which was won in this key state by current Democratic President Joe Biden.

Millions of dollars in donations

Those who have already kicked open the prison door, such as Donald Trump’s former lawyer Rudy Giuliani, have seen their passage memorialized and their “photo” circulating on television and social media. Prior to this mandatory registration, Donald Trump changed the head of his Georgia legal team, choosing Stephen Sadow, tenor of the Atlanta bar. Steve Sadow has in the past criticized the Organized Crime Act, which was used by the prosecutor to bring joint charges against 19 defendants and carries penalties ranging from five to 20 years in prison. The defendants are due back in Atlanta, this time in court, in the week of September 5, presumably to announce whether they plead guilty or not.

Donald Trump, the former reality TV star, has legal hurdles piling up, facing criminal charges for the fourth time in less than six months. The 70-year-old man is charged in New York with suspicious payments to a former pornographic actress, as well as in federal court for electoral pressure during the 2020 presidential election, as well as careless handling of confidential documents after he left the White House. The former president pleaded not guilty in all of these cases.

But, paradoxically, every turn also earns him millions of dollars in campaign contributions, paid out by Trumpists convinced that he is the victim of a political cabal. The American president, a candidate for re-election, is trying not to comment on Donald Trump’s legal problems, trying not to fuel his accusations of instrumentalization of justice.

Donald Trump’s passage through a prison in Georgia came the day after the first major presidential meeting of 2024, a Republican primary debate hosted in Wisconsin. The former real estate mogul shrugged off this discussion, justifying himself with an impressive lead over his rivals in the polls, preferring to speak in an interview with Tucker Carlson, the former celebrity anchor of the conservative Fox News channel, airing on X (ex-Twitter) at the same time.