Former President Donald Trump made history—again—on Thursday when he had his mugshot taken as he was booked into jail in Georgia on felony charges related to Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis’ sprawling racketeering case.
The humiliating photoshoot was something Trump had managed to avoid in his other three criminal cases. Jail officials logged him into the system at roughly 7:30 p.m. ET—marking his height at 6-foot-3, his weight at 215 pounds, and his hair color as “blond or strawberry.”
He opted to forego a smile in the photo, instead debuting a menacing glare that is sure to be one of the defining images of the era.
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Speaking to Newsmax after flying out of Georgia, Trump called his booking a “terrible experience,” adding that “I went through an experience today that I never thought I’d have to go through.” He claimed, though, that he was “treated very nicely.”
“I do sleep soundly and I don’t let it bother me.”
Also speaking to Fox News Digital, the former president said, “It is not a comfortable feeling—especially when you’ve done nothing wrong.”
Griping about “election interference” and how the United States had become a “Third World country,” he also explained to the outlet, perhaps unnecessarily, “This is the only time I’ve ever taken a mugshot.”
When he was indicted on state charges in New York, and federal charges in Florida and D.C., authorities had instead opted to add an existing image of the former president to their booking systems. Officials in Fulton County, however, had vowed to treat Trump like any other criminal defendant.
“Unless somebody tells me differently, we are following our normal practices, and so it doesn’t matter your status,” Fulton County Sheriff Patrick Labat said earlier this month.
Mere minutes after the image was released, Trump’s 2024 campaign had already turned it into a merchandising opportunity, slapping the photo onto a T-shirt and offering to provide the item free of charge—in exchange for a donation of just $47, according to an email blast that quickly circulated on social media.
Trump also made a surprise return to Twitter to share the image, posting to the site for the first time since Jan. 8, 2021: “ELECTION INTERFERENCE. NEVER SURRENDER. DONALDJTRUMP.COM.”
At the airport following his booking, Trump stopped just before boarding to make his first remarks, railing against prosecutors while vehemently maintaining his innocence.
“It’s a sad day for America,” he began. “This should never have happened. You should be able to challenge the election. What has taken place here is a travesty of justice—I did nothing wrong.”
“You have watched many people do the same things—like Hillary Clinton or Stacey Abrams,” Trump falsely asserted, before repeating himself again.
“We did nothing wrong at all and we have every single right to challenge an election that we think is dishonest.”
