Former president Donald Trump proclaimed his innocence Thursday evening after being booked at the Fulton County Jail in Georgia on racketeering charges.
The former president spoke to reporters after he was booked and had his mugshot taken at the Fulton County Jail after a grand jury indicted him for his scheme to overturn the 2020 presidential election results in Georgia.
The now twice-impeached, four-times-indicted Mr Trump called his arrest a sad day for the country.
“This should never happen,” he said. “If you challenge an election, you should be able to challenge an election.”
The former president faces 13 charges for his attempt to overturn the 2020 presidential election results in Georgia after he tried to convince Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger to “find” enough non-existent votes to change the results from President Joe Biden to Mr Trump.
Mr Trump repeated his false claim that the election was rigged against him, saying that other presidential candidates such as Hillary Clinton and former Georgia Democratic gubernatorial nominee Stacey Abrams who said their elections were stolen from them.
Donald Trump’s booking photo after he surrendered at Fulton County Jail in Atlanta, Georgia— (Fulton County Sheriff’s Office)
“When you have that great freedom to challenge, you have to be able to, otherwise, you’re going to have very dishonest elections,” he said. “What has taken place here is a travesty of justice. We did nothing wrong. I did nothing wrong, and everybody knows it. I’ve never had such support.”
The former president also denounced his two federal indictments--one for his handling of classified documents and another for his attempts to overturn the 2020 presidential election--and his indictment in New York County related to his hush money payments to adult film actress Stormy Daniels.
“It’s election interference, they’re trying to interfere with an election,” he said. “There’s never been anything like it in our country before. This is their way of campaigning.”
Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis announced the indictment of Mr Trump and 18 of his allies last week for their scheme to overturn the election. Specifically, she charged the former president and the co-conspirators with 13 charges of violating Georgia’s Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations (RICO) statute, which charges individuals for taking part in actions that serve as part of a criminal enterprise.
The former president’s arrest and surrender comes the same day that Mark Meadows, his final White House chief of staff, surrendered to authorities in Georgia as he was also processed and had his mugshot taken.
On Wednesday, many Mr Trump’s other allies such as attorney Jenna Ellis, attorney Sidney Powell and former New York City mayor and Trump attorney Rudy Giuliani were also processed and had their mugshots taken.
