Trump spends 20 minutes in jail for election fraud

Former United States President Donald Trump was placed under arrest and booked at the Fulton County jail in Atlanta on Thursday (US local time) night in connection with the Georgia election subversion case. He was released 20 minutes later on a bond after completing the booking process, CNN reported.

Trump, on addressing reporters after being arrested and released from jail, said: "I did nothing wrong," CNN reported.

Trump described the criminal case against him as 'a travesty of justice'.

"We have every single right to challenge an election that we think is dishonest," he said.

Trump was released after he agreed to a $200,000 bond and other release conditions, including not using social media to intimidate co-defendants or witnesses in the case, which were previously negotiated by his attorneys.

The former president covered the cost of the bond by putting 10 per cent toward it and he worked with a local Atlanta bonding company Foster Bail Bonds LLC, sources told CNN.

Fulton County marks the first case where Trump has been required to pay a cash bail. His odds of being released without a cash bail were slim in Georgia. Trump was already facing three other felony indictments when he was charged here.

Earlier on Thursday, Trump surrendered at the Fulton County jail in Atlanta to be booked on more than a dozen charges stemming from his efforts to reverse Georgia’s 2020 election results, CNN reported.

Protestors gathered outside the jail could be heard yelling against District Attorney Fani Willis, who charged Trump and 18 others in the election subversion case.

'Lock Fani up!' the former president's supporters chanted, as per CNN.

Trump landed at Atlanta’s Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport on Thursday.

Prior to Trump’s arrival, law enforcement amped up security outside of the Fulton County jail.

More than 10 agencies from the Metro Atlanta area were at the scene. Canine units were deployed to make sure there were no explosives and drones could be seen flying in the air.

Fulton County, Ga., District Attorney Fani Willis (D) gave Trump, his 18 co-defendants a deadline of Friday at noon to voluntarily surrender after indicting them last week.

According to The Hill, the jail has gained a reputation for its poor conditions.

An investigation into the facility was opened by the Justice Department last month over concerns that an individual died there covered in insects and filth.

The sheriff’s office has since announced that another inmate who was being held on a shoplifting charge, died in the jail Thursday.

The state judge overseeing the case has approved two defendants’ bond agreements.

John Eastman, an attorney involved in strategising a scheme to submit false slates of pro-Trump electors, agreed to a $100,000 bond, and Scott Hall, who is charged in connection with an elections office breach, agreed to a $10,000 bond, court filings show.

Willis charged the 19 co-defendants in a 41-count indictment last week focused on racketeering charges.

It is the fourth set of criminal charges Trump faces, according to The Hill.