In and out in roughly 20 minutes — Trump's arrest in Georgia was not, in fact, like everyone else's

Escorted to jail via motorcade, inmate No. P01135809 was booked on 13 felony counts in speedy fashion

By Kelly McClure

Nights & Weekends Editor

Published August 24, 2023 9:03PM (EDT)

Former U.S. President Donald Trump gives a thumbs up as he arrives at Atlanta Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport on August 24, 2023 in Atlanta, Georgia.  (Joe Raedle/Getty Images)
Former U.S. President Donald Trump gives a thumbs up as he arrives at Atlanta Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport on August 24, 2023 in Atlanta, Georgia. (Joe Raedle/Getty Images)

In less time than it takes the average person to have a shower, former president Donald Trump breezed in and out of the Fulton County jail on Thursday evening, emerging freshly arrested and booked on 13 felony counts in relation to his involvement in overturning the results of the 2020 presidential election.    

According to The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, Trump arranged for a metro Atlanta bonding company to handle his $200,000 bond, which stipulates that he's not to:  

  • Violate any federal, state or local laws
  • Intimidate any codefendants, witnesses or victims in the case. This includes on social media.
  • Communicate with codefendants about the case's facts except through counsel

Booking information released by the Fulton County Sheriff's Office lists the details of Trump's charges, along with two pieces of information that social media took particular interest in — his height and weight, which is listed as 6′3′' and 215 pounds.

As Salon reported earlier on Thursday, Trump "abruptly shook up his Georgia legal team just hours before he was expected to be booked at Fulton County jail, replacing prominent attorney Drew Findling with high-profile attorney Steven Sadow." This was viewed by experts as a huge mistake, but judging by the way in which Trump grinned and flashed the thumbs up sign while stepping off of his plane en route to literal jail, he made a good effort at seeming unbothered, per usual.

While Trump was given preferential treatment in that he wasn't made to wait the average 12 hours an arrest and booking would normally take — and he also wasn't given any sort of cavity search or general wellness check — he did have a mug shot taken, which many people have been waiting a very long while to see. 

Trump is the first president in U.S. history to receive one.


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From here, inmate No. P01135809 heads back on his plane, leaving reporters at the scene with parting remarks pleading innocence, despite a great amount of evidence to the contrary.

"I did nothing wrong."


By Kelly McClure

Kelly McClure is Salon's Nights and Weekends Editor covering daily news, politics and culture. Her work has been featured in Vulture, The A.V. Club, Vanity Fair, Cosmopolitan, Nylon, Vice, and elsewhere.

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