Trump supporters gather outside Georgia jail where he is expected to surrender

Dozens of supporters of former President Trump have gathered outside the Fulton County Jail in Atlanta on Thursday, hours before he is expected to turn himself in on election fraud charges.

Trump supporters outside the jail Thursday held banners and flags and said they were there to offer their support.

“I’m here to support Donald J. Trump. I want him to see some of the millions that show up at the polls for him,” east Tennessee resident Sharon Anderson told The Associated Press (AP). Thursday was her second straight day at the jail, and she spent the night in her car, she said.

Others protested the charges as political theater.

“You don’t have the right to persecute somebody unjustly,” Cliff MacMorris said.

The Georgia case is the former president’s fourth criminal trial. Trump is expected to surrender at the jail this afternoon and will have his mug shot taken for the first time. He was levied a $200,000 bond.

Trump was charged alongside 18 co-defendants in a sprawling racketeering case alleging that the former president headed a scheme to overturn the 2020 election results in Georgia, namely by organizing a slate of fake electoral college votes. 

Other notable defendants include his attorneys — former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani, Sidney Powell and John Eastman — as well as Trump’s former White House chief of staff Mark Meadows. All defendants in the case must turn themselves in by Friday. 

Security was tight at the facility Thursday, the AP reported. Vehicle access to the area has been limited and many barricades have been erected to keep back Trump protesters and supporters alike. 

The former president is not expected to spend any time inside the jail itself beyond paperwork processing.