A defiant Donald Trump has spoken out after turning himself in at a Georgia jail on charges that he illegally schemed to overturn the 2020 US election in the state.
The former president was in and out of Fulton County Jail in less than an hour. And, speaking to journalists before he boarded a plane to leave Atlanta after his county jail booking Trump insisted he had done nothing wrong.
The Fulton County prosecution is the fourth criminal case against Trump since March, when he became the first former president in US history to be indicted. Since then, he has faced federal charges in Florida and Washington, and this month he was indicted in Atlanta with 18 others – including his ex-chief of staff, Mark Meadows, and former New York mayor Rudy Giuliani – under a racketeering statute normally associated with gang members and organised crime.
Speaking at Atlanta airport after his booking, Trump said: “This is a very sad day for America.” He claimed his arrest was an example of “election interference”.
“When you have that great freedom to challenge, you have to be able to otherwise you get dishonest elections,” said Trump.
“What has taken place here is a travesty of justice. We did nothing wrong. I did nothing wrong and everybody knows that I’ve never had such support,” he adds.
“We have every right, every single right to challenge an election that we think is dishonest,” added Trump, before thanking journalists for coming. He then boarded his jet Trump Force One to return to New Jersey.
The criminal cases have spurred a succession of bookings and arraignments, with Trump making brief court appearances before returning to the campaign trail.
He has turned the appearances into campaign events amid a far lighter schedule than his rivals, with staff delighting in wall-to-wall media coverage that has included news helicopters tracking his every move.
The campaign has also used the appearances to solicit fundraising contributions from his supporters as aides paint the charges as part of a politically motivated effort to damage his re-election chances.
