Arraignment scheduled for Trump, 18 others in Georgia election case

ATLANTA — Former President Donald Trump and the 18 people indicted along with him in Georgia are scheduled to be arraigned next week on charges they participated in a wide-ranging illegal scheme to overturn the results of the 2020 election.

All 19 defendants, including former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani and White House chief of staff Mark Meadows, have been scheduled for arraignment on Sept. 6, when they may enter pleas as well, according to court records.

A Trump spokesperson didn’t immediately respond to a question about whether the former president intended to waive his appearance.

The defendants met a Friday deadline to turn themselves in at the Fulton County Jail. Trump was booked Thursday evening — scowling at the camera in the first-ever mug shot of a former president.

All but one of those charged had agreed to a bond amount and conditions with Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis ahead of time, and they were free to go after booking.

Willis, who used Georgia’s racketeering law to bring the case, alleges that the defendants participated in a wide-ranging conspiracy to illegally try to keep the Republican president in power even after his election loss to Democrat Joe Biden.

Meadows is seeking to fight the Georgia indictment in federal court. A hearing on transferring his case there from state court was being held Monday. At least four others charged in the indictment are also seeking to move the case to federal court, including U.S. Department of Justice official Jeffrey Clark.