Donald Trump said he will turn himself in to authorities in Atlanta at 7:30 p.m. on Thursday to be booked on criminal charges over his efforts to reverse his 2020 election defeat— the fourth time the former US president will surrender in a criminal case as he campaigns for the White House. Trump and his 18 of his co-defendants — many of them his closest allies — have been arriving throughout the week at the Fulton County Jail in Atlanta to be booked on racketeering and other charges. They are accused of conspiring to overturn the former president’s defeat by Joe Biden in the crucial swing state of Georgia. Many mug shots of the defendants have already been released, while it remains unclear whether Trump, a recognizable public figure, will be required to have one taken.
Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis gave the group until midday Aug. 25 to voluntarily surrender, or face arrest. Arraignments are set to begin as soon as Sept. 5 in Atlanta, and Willis has asked for a group trial to start as soon as Oct. 23. Trump is at the center of the case, accused of leading a “criminal enterprise” whose members testified falsely about voter fraud to Georgia lawmakers, pressured state officials to reject votes, organized a group of fake presidential electors, intimidated poll workers and stole election machine data in a rural Georgia county.
Here’s the latest on where each defendant’s case stands:
Donald Trump
Former US president
Surrender Date: Aug. 24Arraignment Date: Not yet setBail: $200,000
Charges (13 counts): Georgia RICO (Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations) Act; solicitation of violation of oath by a public officer (3 times); filing false documents; false statements and writings (2); conspiracy to commit impersonating a public officer; conspiracy to commit forgery (2); conspiracy to commit false statements and writings (2); conspiracy to commit filing false documents
Allegations: Prosecutors claim Trump advanced the scheme in a number of ways, including by spreading false conspiracy theories about voter fraud, pressuring several state officials to overturn Joe Biden’s win in Georgia and promoting a corrupt plan to win the state’s 16 Electoral College votes by appointing a slate of fake electors. Trump is quoted in the indictment pressuring Justice Department officials to make false statements by stating ,"Just say that the election was corrupt, and leave the rest to me and the Republican congressmen."
His actions in Georgia stood out because of an infamous phone call in which he and his aides tried to pressure Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger to “find” just enough votes to reverse his election loss in the state. But Trump, who is seeking to return to the White House in the 2024 election, has denied wrongdoing and claims the case is part of a vast “witch hunt” to keep him out of office.
Rudy Giuliani
Former Trump lawyer
Surrender Date: Aug. 23Arraignment Date: Not yet setBail: $150,000
Charges (13): RICO; solicitation of violation of oath by a public officer (3); filing false documents; false statements and writings (3); conspiracy to commit impersonating a public officer; conspiracy to commit forgery; conspiracy to commit false statements and writings (2); conspiracy to commit filing false documents
Allegations: Prosecutors accuse Giuliani furthered the conspiracy by testifying falsely to Georgia lawmakers about far-fetched electoral conspiracies that were later debunked, in order to persuade them not to certify Biden’s win in the state. Giuliani also falsely accused election worker Ruby Freeman and her daughter of scheming to undermine Trump as votes were being counted on Election Day, claiming they passed around USB devices to tamper with votes “as if they’re vials of heroin or cocaine,” according to the indictment.
Mark Meadows
Former White House chief of staff
Surrender Date: Aug. 24Arraignment Date: Not yet setBail: $100,000
Charges (2): RICO; solicitation of violation of oath by a public officer
Allegations: Prosecutors say Meadows furthered the conspiracy by participating in a Jan. 2, 2021, phone call in which Trump pressured Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger to “find” just enough votes to reverse his loss to Biden in the state. Meadows, one of Trump’s closest aides during his effort to stay in office, also observed the audit of absentee ballot signatures in Georgia’s Cobb County and arranged the call with Raffensperger — both significant pieces of the alleged scheme, according to the indictment.
Meadows is fighting to move his case to federal court from state court, arguing that he’s protected from state prosecution over conduct tied to his work as an employee of the federal government. A federal judge will hear arguments on that request on Aug. 28 in Atlanta. On Aug. 23, a judge denied his request for a court order that would have barred the district attorney from seeking his arrest if he fails to turn himself in by midday on Aug. 25. Willis argued in a filing with the judge that Meadows should be treated just like any other defendant in the case.
John Eastman
Lawyer who advised Trump
Surrender Date: Aug. 22Arraignment Date: Not yet setBail: $100,000
Charges (9): RICO; solicitation of violation of oath by a public officer; filing false documents; conspiracy to commit impersonating a public officer; conspiracy to commit forgery (2); conspiracy to commit false statements and writings (2); conspiracy to commit filing false documents
Allegations: Prosecutors accuse Eastman, a conservative lawyer, of writing a memo falsely claiming that then-Vice President Mike Pence could overturn the election results in Congress on Jan. 6, 2021, by declining to recognize Biden’s presidential electors from Georgia and other swing states. Eastman is also accused of making false claims about rampant voter fraud in a lawsuit challenging the election and testifying falsely to Georgia lawmakers about such claims.
Former White House lawyers told the House Jan. 6 committee that they strongly pushed back on Eastman’s theories — with one official calling them “completely crazy.” But Eastman blasted the indictment when he turned himself in for booking, saying in a statement that the charges “should never have been brought.” He argued the criminal case violates his free-speech rights and tramples the right of a client to get advice from a lawyer.
Jeffrey Clark
Former Justice Department official
Surrender Date: Not yet setArraignment Date: Not yet setBail: $100,000
Charges (2): RICO; criminal attempt to commit false statements and writings
Allegations: Clark, who oversaw environmental and natural resources matters at the Justice Department under Trump, is accused of advancing the conspiracy by drafting a letter in December 2020 that falsely said the Justice Department had “identified significant concerns” about election fraud in Georgia and other states. The letter, which went unsent, urged Georgia officials to call a special session of the state legislature to overturn Biden’s victory.
Clark is seeking to move the case to federal court from state court, arguing that he’s immune from state prosecution because he was an employee of the federal government during the alleged conduct. Trump had considered installing Clark as acting attorney general, according to testimony provided to the congressional committee. Top department officials threatened to resign en masse if Trump went through with that plan, and it never happened.
Kenneth Chesebro
Lawyer who advised Trump
Surrender Date: Aug. 23Arraignment Date: Not yet setBail: $100,000
Charges (7): RICO; conspiracy to commit impersonating a public officer; conspiracy to commit forgery (2); conspiracy to commit false statements and writings (2); conspiracy to commit filing false documents
Allegations: Chesebro, a lawyer in the Trump 2020 campaign orbit, is accused of working with Eastman to develop a fake elector strategy to disrupt and delay the certification of Biden’s election in Congress on Jan. 6, 2021. He is also accused of helping to organize the slate of fake electors in Georgia.
Chesebro allegedly worked directly with top Georgia Republicans, including then-party Chair Shafer, to have that state’s 16 alternate electors meet at the State Capitol on Dec. 14, 2020, and cast Electoral College votes in favor of Trump. He is described as having provided templated documents for use during that meeting.
Sidney Powell
Former Trump campaign lawyer
Surrender Date: Aug. 23Arraignment Date: Not yet setBail: $100,000
Charges (7): RICO; conspiracy to commit election fraud (2); conspiracy to commit computer theft; conspiracy to commit computer trespass; conspiracy to commit computer invasion of privacy; conspiracy to defraud the state
Allegations: Powell, an architect of the conspiracy theory that the election was rigged by voting-machine companies and foreign hackers, worked closely with Trump, Giuliani and others at the White House to craft a plan to block the transition of power to Biden, including by seizing voting machines for a partisan investigation. Among other things, she is accused in the indictment of hiring a forensic data firm to breach election equipment in rural Coffee County, Georgia, and copy voter software and data. The alleged breach — which took place the day after the Jan. 6, 2021, insurrection in Washington — was part of a last-ditch plan to find proof of voter fraud despite the election result being verified by recounts.
Powell for a time She has faced ethics challenges in Texas and Michigan over work on election lawsuits in which she failed to follow through on promises to reveal vast evidence of voter fraud, including rigged voting machines. She has denied wrongdoing.
Jenna Ellis
Lawyer who advised Trump
Surrender Date: Aug. 23Arraignment Date: Not yet setBail: $100,000
Charges (2): RICO; solicitation of violation of oath by a public officer
Allegations: Ellis, who once described herself as part of an “elite strike force” fighting for Trump after the election, is accused of advancing the scheme by writing a memo outlining a strategy to disrupt the Electoral College certification in Congress. She’s also accused of joining Giuliani in making false claims about the election.
Ellis was formally censured earlier this year by the Colorado Supreme Court after admitting to making 10 misrepresentations about the 2020 election. Ellis, who is from Colorado, agreed with a disciplinary judge that she repeatedly misrepresented facts on social media and national television, including by claiming the presidential election had been stolen and that Trump “won in a landslide.”
David Shafer
Former Georgia Republican Party chair
Surrender Date: Aug. 23Arraignment Date: Not yet setBail: $75,000
Charges (8): RICO; false statements and writings (3); impersonating a public officer; forgery (2); criminal attempt to commit filing false documents
Allegations: Prosecutors claim Shafer furthered the conspiracy by arranging a meeting on Dec. 14, 2020, to certify as electors a slate of Trump supporters who falsely claimed they were the “duly elected and qualified presidential electors” from Georgia. Shafer tweeted his own mugshot after completing his booking.
Ray Smith III
Georgia lawyer who advised Trump
Surrender Date: Aug. 23Arraignment Date: Not yet setBail: $50,000
Charges (12): RICO; solicitation of violation of oath by a public officer (3); false statements and writings (2); conspiracy to commit impersonating a public officer; conspiracy to commit forgery (2); conspiracy to commit false statements and writings (2); conspiracy to commit filing false documents
Allegations: Prosecutors accuse Smith of making false statements to Georgia lawmakers about felons and dead people voting and helping certify the fake electors list that was officially submitted.
Cathleen Latham
Former Coffee County Republican Party chair
Surrender Date: Aug. 23Arraignment Date: Not yet setBail: $75,000
Charges (11): RICO; impersonating a public officer; forgery; false statements and writings; criminal attempt to commit filing false documents; conspiracy to commit election fraud (2); conspiracy to commit computer theft; conspiracy to commit computer trespass; conspiracy to commit computer invasion of privacy; conspiracy to defraud the state
Allegations : Prosecutors allege that Latham furthered the alleged scheme by agreeing to be one of 16 fake Trump electors and by helping arrange the alleged breach of voter data in Coffee County in January 2021. Accessing voter data would have been one way to to try to back up assertions of voter fraud.
Michael Roman
Former Trump campaign official
Surrender Date: Not yet setArraignment Date: Not yet setBond: $50,000
Charges (7): RICO; conspiracy to commit impersonating a public officer; conspiracy to commit forgery (2); conspiracy to commit false statements and writings (2); conspiracy to commit filing false documents
Allegations : Prosecutors say Roman helped organize slates of fake electors in several states, including Georgia.
Robert Cheeley
Georgia lawyer who advised Trump
Surrender Date: Not yet setArraignment Date: Not yet setBail: $50,000
Charges (10): RICO; solicitation of violation of oath by a public officer; false statements and writings; conspiracy to commit impersonating a public officer; conspiracy to commit forgery (2); conspiracy to commit false statements and writings (2); conspiracy to commit filing false documents; perjury
Allegations : Prosecutors allege that Cheeley advanced the alleged conspiracy by falsely testifying to Georgia lawmakers that Fulton County election workers had “voted” the same ballots “over and over again” on Election Day. He is also charged with perjuring himself before the special-purpose grand jury that heard evidence in the Fulton County case.
Shawn Still
Fake Trump elector
Surrender Date: Not yet setArraignment Date: Not yet setBail: $10,000
Charges (7): RICO; impersonating a public officer; forgery (2); false statements and writings (2); criminal attempt to commit filing false documents
Allegations: Still was one of three electors indicted over their role in the scheme to present a bogus slate of 16 Republicans as the “duly elected and qualified” electors submitted in support of Trump.
Scott Hall
Georgia bail bondsman
Date: Aug. 22Arraignment Date: Not yet setBail: $10,000
Charges (7): RICO; conspiracy to commit election fraud (2); conspiracy to commit computer theft; conspiracy to commit computer trespass; conspiracy to commit computer invasion of privacy; conspiracy to defraud the state
Allegations: Prosecutors claim Hall flew to Coffee County on Jan. 7, 2021, to help with the unlawful breach of election equipment and voter data.
Misty Hampton
Former Coffee County elections supervisor
Surrender Date: Not yet setArraignment Date: Not yet setBail: $10,000
Charges (7): RICO; conspiracy to commit election fraud (2); conspiracy to commit computer theft; conspiracy to commit computer trespass; conspiracy to commit computer invasion of privacy; conspiracy to defraud the state
Allegations: Prosecutors allege Hampton assisted employees of forensic data firm SullivanStrickler in breaching voting machines in Coffee County.
Stephen Cliffgard Lee
Police chaplain from Illinois
Surrender Date: Not yet setArraignment Date: Not yet setBail: $75,000
Charges (5): RICO; criminal attempt to commit influencing witnesses (2); influencing witnesses; conspiracy to commit solicitation of false statements and writings
Allegations: Prosecutors say Lee tried to intimidate Fulton County poll worker Ruby Freeman by visiting her at home and “purporting to offer her help” with the goal of getting her to give false testimony about Election Day events.
Harrison Floyd
Former director of Black Voices for Trump
Surrender Date: Aug. 24Arraignment Date: Not yet setBail: Not yet set
Charges (3): RICO; influencing witnesses; conspiracy to commit solicitation of false statements and writings
Allegations: Prosecutors allege that Floyd advanced the conspiracy by joining a meeting on Jan. 4, 2021, that former Kanye West publicist Trevian Kutti had with Freeman. In that meeting, she allegedly tried to manipulate Freeman into giving false testimony about voter fraud Election Day.
Trevian Kutti
Former Kanye West publicist
Surrender Date: TBAArraignment Date: TBABail: TBD
Charges (3): RICO; influencing witnesses; conspiracy to commit solicitation of false statements and writings
Allegations: Prosecutors claim Kutti visited Freeman at her home and falsely identified herself as a crisis manager who wanted to help her. She allegedly joined Lee and Floyd in trying to influence Freeman’s testimony about Election Day events.
(updates with latest developments on booking of Meadows and timing of Trump jail apperance.)
