Georgia election case: Trump, other 18 defendants surrender to authorities
Former President Trump was processed and released on bail.
Former President Donald Trump and the 18 other defendants charged by Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis for their alleged efforts to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election in Georgia all surrendered to authorities at the Fulton County Jail in Atlanta.
Trump and 17 other defendants were processed and released on bail, with one defendant held without bond. Several defendants also mounted legal challenges to the DA's case.
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All but 1 defendant have surrendered to authorities
Publicist Trevian Kutti has surrendered to authorities at the Fulton County Jail, leaving only one defendant remaining to turn themselves in before the DA's noon deadline, according to the Fulton County Sheriff's Office.
Former Justice Department official Jeffrey Clark, Georgia state Sen. Shawn Still, former Coffee County elections director Misty Hampton, Georgia lawyer Robert Cheeley and Trump staffer Michael Roman all surrendered for processing since last night, the sheriff's office said.
The last remaining defendant is Chicago pastor Stephen Lee, who officials said is expected to surrender today.
Eastman calls Trump's surrender 'crossing of the Rubicon'
Defendant John Eastman, who faces nine counts in the DA's indictment, said Trump's surrender to authorities Thursday was "a crossing of the Rubicon in our system of justice."
Speaking last night outside the California Bar Court where he is fighting disbarment, the former Trump attorney said he will mount a strong defense to the DA's case.
"We have very viable legal defenses and constitutional defenses," said Eastman, who was processed and released from Fulton County Jail Wednesday.
Eastman, who is accused of drafting a plan for Trump to cling to power by falsely claiming then-Vice President Mike Pence could reject legitimate electors during the Jan. 6 certification of the vote, has indicated that he will seek to sever his case from the other defendants.
"It's because we'd like to get out of it sooner," he told ABC News. "Because we did nothing wrong."
5 more defendants surrender to authorities
Following Donald Trump's surrender for processing on Thursday night, five more defendants in the case surrendered overnight at the Fulton County Jail.
Out of the 19 total defendants, only Trevian Kutti and Stephen Lee have yet to turn themselves in as today's noon deadline approaches.
Both Kutti, a publicist who once repped Ye and R. Kelly, and Lee, an Illinois pastor, are accused of trying to strong-arm election worker Ruby Freeman, who was falsely accused of stealing ballots.
-Aaron Katersky
Trump posts mug shot on X in return to social media platform
Trump has posted his mug shot on his X account, marking his first post on the social media platform since Jan. 8, 2021.
Trump was suspended from X -- then known as Twitter -- following the attack on the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021. He hadn't tweeted since new owner Elon Musk reinstated his Twitter account in November 2022 -- instead using his Truth Social platform to post messages.
Trump posted his mug shot on Truth Social as well.
Both posts linked to Trump's 2024 campaign website, where the mug shot was also used as part of a fundraising pitch.
-ABC News' Soo Rin Kim, Lalee Ibssa and Will Steakin
Trump opposes DA's motion for October trial date
In Trump's first filing in the case, his attorney is now pushing back on the DA's motion -- which requested an Oct. 23 trial start date for all 19 defendants -- saying they oppose it.
"President Trump respectfully puts the Court on notice that he opposes the State's 'motion for entry of pretrial scheduling order' and 'motion to specially set trial,'" the filing states.
Trump attorney Steven Sadow also notified the court that they would be filing "a timely motion" to sever the case from Cheseboro -- who requested the speedy trial-- as well as any other defendant who "files such a demand."
"President Trump further respectfully puts the Court on notice that he requests the Court set a scheduling conference at its earliest convenience so he can be heard on the State's motions for entry of pretrial scheduling order and to specially set trial," the filing states.