President Donald Trump and others indicted in Fulton County, Georgia will appear for arraignment before the Fulton County Superior Court on Sept. 6.
President Trump will be the first to appear at the court, with arraignments of 18 co-defendants in the case following every fifteen minutes.
President Trump will appear at 9:30 a.m.
The defendants have been charged under the state Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations (RICO) Act, classified as a serious felony in the state, along with a laundry list of other charges in a controversial case led by Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis. Ms. Willis has alleged that the defendants in the case sought to use illegal means to overturn the 2020 election in the state.
Others charged in the case include several of President Trump’s allies, including former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani, attorney John Eastman, attorney Sidney Powell, former White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows, attorney Kenneth Chesebro, former DOJ official Jeffrey Clark, and others.
The defendants in the case will appear in the court at the following times:
- President Donald Trump: 9:30 a.m.
- Rudy Giuliani: 9:45 a.m.
- John Eastman: 10:00 a.m.
- Sidney Powell: 10:15 a.m.
- Mark Meadows: 10:30 a.m.
- Cathy Latham: 10:45 a.m.
- Scott Hall: 11:00 a.m.
- Kenneth Chesebro: 11:15 a.m.
- Trevian Rutti: 11:30 a.m.
- Harrison Floyd: 11:45 a.m.
- Jeffrey Clark: 1:00 p.m.
- Stephen Lee: 1:15 p.m.
- Jenna Ellis: 1:30 p.m.
- Shawn Still: 1:45 p.m.
- Ray Smith: 2:00 p.m.
- David Schafer: 2:15 p.m.
- Michael Roman: 2:30 p.m.
- Bob Cheeley: 2:45 p.m.
- Misty Hampton: 3:00 p.m.
The defendants are generally expected to plead not guilty to the charges.
Attorneys for the defendants argue that the charges constitute a violation of their clients’ rights to free speech, including the right of their clients to challenge the legitimacy of the results of the 2020 election.
While charges vary from defendant to defendant, each person arraigned faces a charge of violating the RICO Act, a type of bill traditionally used to round up mobsters, gang leaders, cartel bosses, and other major criminal enterprises. If convicted of the charge, it could carry a sentence of between five and 20 years in prison under Georgia law.
President Trump is facing additional charges in three other cases: a case in Manhattan relates to hush money he allegedly paid porn actress Stormy Daniels to cover up an affair, another relates to his alleged retention of classified documents, and a third alleges similarly to the Georgia case that President Trump sought to overturn the 2020 election.
In these preceding cases, President Trump was afforded the right to avoid a mugshot photo in view of how widely photographed he is.
However, Fulton County officials required him to pose for a mugshot during booking—a photo that President Trump has since used to sell millions in merchandise to his supporters.
President Trump’s appearance in Atlanta forced strict security measures, including the imposition of a temporary no-fly zone over the booking facility. Similar measures will likely be put in place ahead of his Sept. 6 appearance.
Support for the former president, far and away the frontrunner for the Republican nomination, has remained stable throughout his legal troubles, and the most recent indictment appears to have had no negative effect on that goal.
From The Epoch Times
