Donald Trump left his New Jersey estate on Thursday to report to an Atlanta prison as part of a wide-ranging criminal case related to the former US president’s attempts to overturn his 2020 election defeat in Georgia, Reuters reported.

Trump will have to appear at the Fulton County Jail to be fingerprinted and photographed — a photo sure to be widely shared by supporters and critics alike during the former president’s campaign to win back the White House in November 2024.

Now the businessman-turned-politician is set to join gangster Al Capone, Frank Sinatra and other famous Americans who have been photographed in prison.

Trump’s motorcade left his golf club in Bedminster, New Jersey, as the former US president began the several-hour journey to the Fulton County Jail, where several dozen supporters awaited his arrival.

He said on social media that he would surrender around 11:30 PM GMT.

What happens to Trump after he was photographed in prison

Meanwhile, Judge Scott McAfee set a trial date for one of the defendants, attorney Kenneth Chesebrough, for Oct. 23. That court date will not necessarily apply to Trump or the other 17 defendants.

Trump, 77, has already entered uncharted territory as the first former US president to face criminal charges, although the four indictments against him have not slowed his pace as the front-runner for the Republican nomination to challenge Democratic President Joe Biden next year. election.

The former Republican president faces 13 charges in Georgia, including racketeering, under the law known by the acronym RICO, which is commonly used against organized crime. He is suspected of pressuring state officials to overturn his loss to Democratic President Joe Biden in the 2020 election.

Donald Trump has denied any wrongdoing and said it was politically motivated. He will not plead guilty or not guilty during that appearance Thursday.

He agreed to post $200,000 bail and accepted bail conditions that prohibit him from threatening witnesses or 18 co-defendants in the case, including through social media posts. After appearing in the Fulton County Jail on Thursday, he will have to appear later – probably in early September – in court to formally say how he accepts his confessions, writes News.ro.

Trump changed lawyers on the day he was scheduled to report to prison

A few hours before appearing in a prison in Georgia, Trump fired his top lawyer. Drew Findling, who led Trump’s defense in the Georgia case, will be replaced by Steven Sadow, an Atlanta-based attorney whose website profile describes him as “an attorney specializing in the defense of government officials.” High rank”.

A source close to Trump clarified that it was not about dissatisfaction with the work of Findling’s former lawyer, and another person who knows Sadov said that he is “the best criminal lawyer in Georgia.” Trump’s other attorney in Georgia, Jennifer Little, is expected to remain on his legal team and work with Sadov, CNN writes, News.ro reports.

“I have been selected to represent President Trump in a case in Fulton County, Georgia. The President should never have been charged. He is innocent of all charges brought against him,” Sadow said in a statement. “We look forward to the conclusion of the case or, if necessary, to an impartial and open jury finding the president not guilty. Criminal prosecutions designed to advance or serve the ambitions and careers of the president’s political opponents have no place in our justice system – said the new lawyer.

In 2021, during an interview regarding Trump’s potential indictment in Georgia, Steven Sadow criticized the application of RICO, saying the statute was a way for prosecutors to present evidence that would otherwise be inadmissible.

Trump did not hesitate to change his legal team in other cases. In June, he fired two top lawyers who had represented him in federal court over allegations of mishandling classified documents.