Former President Donald Trump announced his intent to surrender to law enforcement at Fulton County Jail on Thursday for arraignment in the racketeering case brought against him last week. Trump has also agreed to pay $200,000 bond and abide by a list of release conditions established by Judge Scott McAfee.
As Valuetainment reported at the time of the indictment, Donald Trump and 18 of his associates are facing a variety of charges for their efforts to overturn the 2020 election results in Fulton County, Georgia. District Attorney Fani Willis has charged the 19 defendants with violating the Georgia Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations (RICO) Act, allowing all parties to be tried simultaneously as part of one broader criminal conspiracy. Willis gave Trump and his alleged co-conspirators until Friday, August 25 to surrender themselves for arraignment.
On Tuesday, with the surrender deadline approaching, Trump and his legal team consented to the bond order set by Judge McAfee, agreeing to pay $10,000 for each count of solicitation, criminal conspiracy, making false statements, and filing false documents. The RICO charge carries an additional $80,000 payment, bringing the total payment for the 13 counts to $200,000.
In addition to the bond payments, Trump has also agreed to a series of release conditions limiting his communications regarding the case. After signing the agreement, the former president is prohibited from making “direct or indirect threats” against co-defendants, witnesses, victims, or the community at large or communicating with any of these parties except through his lawyers. These restrictions include but are not limited to statements made on Trump’s social media.
Ahead of the agreement going into effect, Trump took to Truth Social to accuse DA Willis of conducting a “witch hunt” against him.
Four other co-defendants—attorneys John Eastman, Kenneth Chesebro, and Ray Smith III and former bail bondsman Scott Hall—reached similar bond agreements in exchange for lesser payments last week.
Trump’s surrender at the Fulton County jail will come one day after the first Republican Primary Debate on Wednesday—which Trump will notably not be attending. Instead, as an act of spite to Fox News, he has announced that he will be appearing in a prerecorded interview with Tucker Carlson.
The signed bond agreement for Donald Trump can be read below in its entirety:
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