Donald Trump to surrender to Georgia authorities on Thursday over election interference charges
22 August 2023, 08:57 | Updated: 22 August 2023, 08:59
Former US president Donald Trump will hand himself over to authorities in Georgia on Thursday to face charges of scheming to overturn his 2020 election loss.
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The case is the fourth to be brought against Mr Trump since April, when he became the first former president in US history to face indictment.
Since then, Mr Trump, who remains the leading candidate for the Republican presidential nomination, has had a procession of bookings and arraignments in jurisdictions across the US.
Speaking on Truth Social on Monday, he said: “Can you believe it? I’ll be going to Atlanta, Georgia, on Thursday to be ARRESTED by a Radical Left District Attorney, Fani Willis, who is overseeing one of the greatest Murder and Violent Crime DISASTERS in American History.”
He added: “In my case, the trip to Atlanta is not for 'Murder,' but for making a PERFECT PHONE CALL!”
Mr Trump's announcement came hours after his attorneys met with prosecutors in Atlanta to discuss the details of his release on bond.
The former president's bail was set at $200,000 (£157,000).
He is also barred from intimidating co-defendants, witnesses or victims in the case - including on social media - according to the bond agreement signed by Fulton County district attorney Fani Willis, Mr Trump's defence attorneys and the judge.
It explicitly includes "posts on social media or reposts of posts" made by others.
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Mr Trump has repeatedly used social media to attack people involved in the criminal cases against him as he campaigns to reclaim the White House in 2024.
He has been railing against Ms Willis since before he was indicted, and singled out Georgia governor Brian Kemp - a Republican who rebuffed his efforts to overturn the election - by name in a social media post on Monday morning.
The agreement bans him from making any "direct or indirect threat of any nature" against witnesses or co-defendants, and from communicating in any way about the facts of the case with them, except through attorneys.
Ms Willis set a deadline of midday on Friday for Mr Trump and his 18 co-defendants to turn themselves in.
The prosecutor has proposed that arraignments for the defendants follow during the week of September 5.
She said she wanted to try the defendants collectively and bring the case to trial in March, which would put it in the heat of the presidential nominating season.
Mr Trump denies 13 charges, including racketeering and false statements.
A Trump spokesman did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the filing. A phone message seeking comment was also left for an attorney for the former president.
It comes after Mr Trump said he had decided to skip the first Republican primary debate this week.
The Fulton County Sheriff's Office said in a news release on Monday that when Mr Trump surrenders there will be a "hard lockdown" of the area surrounding the jail.
Mr Trump is not expected to spend much time there.
