Trump must surrender to Georgia authorities by August 25 following his RICO indictment
- Donald Trump must surrender to Fulton County, Georgia, authorities by August 25.
- The same goes for the other 18 co-defendants named in the Georgia RICO indictment.
Former President Donald Trump must voluntarily surrender to Georgia authorities by August 25, Fulton County DA Fani Willis said Monday night while handing down Trump's RICO indictment that alleged he tried to overturn the 2020 election.
The same goes for the 18 other co-defendants Willis named in the indictment, which was unsealed late Monday night.
"I am giving the defendants the opportunity to voluntarily surrender no later than noon on Friday, the 25th day of August, 2023," Willis said in a press conference following the unsealing of the indictment, noting that arrest warrants were ready.
None of the 19 defendants have turned themselves in yet.
"It is expected that all 19 defendants named in the indictment will be booked at the Rice Street Jail," the Fulton County Sheriff's Office said in a statement Tuesday. The statement adds that the defendants can "turn themselves in at any time" as "the jail is open 24/7."
What does it mean to voluntarily surrender?
When you voluntarily surrender, you turn yourself in at a precinct of your own accord instead of being taken into custody by officials. In this case, Trump and his 18 allies must surrender to Fulton County authorities.
Once they surrender, they will be booked and processed at the Fulton County Jail, which could include being fingerprinted and taking mugshots.
As CNN pointed out, the sheriff will have to negotiate the terms of the surrender with the Secret Service and Trump's attorneys.
Is Trump going to jail?
It remains unclear whether Trump and his associates will see the inside of a jail cell during their bookings.
After he surrenders, Trump will have an arraignment hearing where a judge will finalize the terms of his bond or bail. He will likely post bond and be released.
CNN reported that defendants who are not immediately arrested after being charged — as was the case here — can usually negotiate bond and other terms of release with the DA's office.
Has Trump surrendered in his other criminal cases?
The Georgia RICO indictment is the fourth criminal case against Trump. He's surrendered himself to authorities three times already this year.
In April, Trump voluntarily surrendered to the Manhattan DA's office after being charged with falsifying business records to cover up hush money payments made to Stormy Daniels ahead of the 2016 election.
"WOW, they are going to ARREST ME. Can't believe this is happening in America. MAGA!" Trump wrote on Truth Social at the time.
In June, Trump voluntarily appeared in Miami court for arraignment after being accused of taking classified documents from the White House and bringing them to his home at Mar-a-Lago, hiding them from authorities.
Trump also surrendered in August in a Washington, DC, courthouse after being indicted over his connection with the January 6 Capitol riot and attempts to thwart Joe Biden's 2020 election.