Will Trump have his mug shot taken?
Will Donald Trump have his mug shot taken by the Fulton County Sheriff’s Office? He’s been spared that indignity in all three of his previous criminal cases.
But that might change now that he’s been charged in Georgia.
In advance of Monday’s indictment, Fulton County Sheriff Patrick Labat told reporters the former president could be treated like any other defendant.
“It doesn’t matter your status, we’ll have a mugshot ready for you,” Labat said. “Unless somebody tells me differently, we are following our normal practices.”
Typically, when defendants are arrested or surrender to authorities in Fulton County they are processed at the Rice Street jail where they are fingerprinted and stand for a booking photo. Whether the U.S.. Secret Service, which is in charge of protecting Trump, will allow him to appear at the jail, which us under investigation by federal authorities, is an open question.
Although federal authorities in Miami and Washington and local officials in Manhattan gave Trump a pass, that didn’t stop his campaign from seizing the moment by selling T-shirts with a fake mug shot for $36 or a $47 campaign donation. The words “NOT GUILTY” appear in big, bold letters under the fictitious mug shot.
It wasn’t the first time a politician used a mug shot as a fundraising tool. Running for reelection in 2012, John Lewis used his booking photo as part of a flyer that said, “Getting into good trouble since 1960.”
The mug shot of the late congressman was taken in 1963 after his arrest at a sit in at an Atlanta Toddle House restaurant. Supporters could get one after contributing to his campaign.
About the Author
Bill Rankin has been an AJC reporter for more than 30 years. His father, Jim Rankin, worked as an editor for the newspaper for 26 years, retiring in 1986. Bill has primarily covered the state’s court system, doing all he can do to keep the scales of justice on an even keel. Since 2015, he has been the host of the newspaper’s Breakdown podcast.
