WASHINGTON: The US Justice Department is investigating the conditions at the notorious Atlanta jail where former US president Donald Trump will likely surrender on Thursday to face charges he tried to overturn the 2020 election.
According to the sheriff’s office, the 77-year-old former president and the 18 co-defendants in the election racketeering case are to be booked at the Fulton County Jail, also known as the Rice Street Jail.
The standard booking procedure is for a defendant to be fingerprinted and photographed before being released on bail — which was already set at $200,000 in Trump’s case.
Trump didn’t have to endure the indignity of getting shot during his three previous arrests this year: in New York on charges of paying off a porn star, in Florida on mishandling of top-secret government documents and in Washington on conspiracy charges. to make up for his 2020 election loss to Democrat Joe Biden.
But Fulton County Sheriff Pat Labat told reporters this month that when it comes to booking at his jail, “your status doesn’t matter.”
“We have a shot for you,” said Labat.
Trump, the front-runner for the Republican presidential nomination in 2024, and other co-defendants have until noon Friday (16:00 GMT) to voluntarily surrender to charges that they conspired to overturn the billionaire’s election loss to Biden in Georgia.
In a post on his Truth Social platform, Trump said he would travel to Atlanta on Thursday to be arrested, but did not specify a time.
In a fundraising appeal, he said it would take place at a prison “which has been described as a ‘humanitarian crisis'” where “guards have collected over 1,000 stop signs made from crumbling walls”.
Two co-defendants in the racketeering case, Trump lawyer John Eastman and bail bondsman Scott Hall, were booked into the Fulton County Jail on Tuesday and released on bail.
The Fulton County Sheriff’s Office set up a tight security perimeter around the facility, closing streets and restricting access.
The Justice Department launched an investigation in July into conditions at the Fulton County Jail, where a number of inmates have died in recent years.
Attorney General Merrick Garland said it was launched “following serious allegations of unsafe and unsanitary living conditions at the prison”.
U.S. Attorney Ryan Buchanan added, “Recent allegations of filthy, vermin-infested dwellings, rampant violence resulting in death and injury, and police officers using excessive force are cause for serious concern and warrant a thorough investigation.”
According to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, the prison currently houses more than 2,500 inmates, double the amount it was originally designed to house in 1989.
Fifteen inmates died in the prison last year, the newspaper said, with four deaths reported in the past five weeks alone.
Fulton County recently approved a $4 million settlement with the family of a 35-year-old mentally challenged man who was found dead in his cell covered in lice and bedbugs.
Attorney John Eastman was named as a co-defendant with the ex-president and was booked into the same Atlanta jail where Trump is expected to be extradited.
Attorney John Eastman was named as a co-defendant with the ex-president and was booked into the same Atlanta jail where Trump is expected to turn himself in
After his booking, Trump will be subject to an impeachment trial where he will be formally charged and plead guilty.
Judge Scott McAfee, who is presiding over the case, can decide whether Trump must appear in person for the arraignment or whether he can appear virtually.
Fani Willis, the Fulton County District Attorney who filed the case, requested that the arraignments be held the week of September 5 and the trial begin on March 4, 2024.
Others facing racketeering charges in the alleged plot in Georgia include Trump’s former personal lawyer Rudy Giuliani and his White House chief of staff, Mark Meadows.
