Trump's unprecedented mug shot at Fulton County jail galvanises parties

On Thursday evening, Donald Trump was booked with a mugshot, making him the first former US president to go through this routine process of common defendants. 

Trump, the Republican frontrunner who had skipped his party's first 2024 presidential debate the previous day, was charged along with 18 other defendants for breaking Georgia state laws in their efforts to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election. 

This was Trump's fourth indictment this year, but the first time his mugshot was taken, which took place at the Fulton County Jail, in line with what the authorities said would be the same process for any other person surrendering.

Though plans for releasing the mugshot were known in advance, it wasn't until Thursday that Trump announced that he would surrender himself that evening at 7:30 pm (though the process appeared to have taken place later in the evening).

The mugshot pic.twitter.com/AsGCeAtcPj

— Mehdi Hasan (@mehdirhasan) August 25, 2023

Before Trump reached the jail, both his supporters and opponents, carrying signs of outrage, were waiting outside the facility.

"Both sides will try to claim 'victory'. Democratic partisans are excited to see a mugshot of Trump. On the other hand, Trump is already using the mugshot to fundraise. This could make him even more of a 'martyr'. It might even boost his already-high GOP poll numbers more than a good debate performance would have," J. Miles Coleman, associate editor of Sabato's Crystal Ball at the University of Virginia Center for Politics, told The New Arab.

"Broadly, the Republicans will complain that Biden and the Democrats are retaliating against their rivals. But Democrats could use this to blunt Republicans' messaging on law and order, especially if Trump is convicted," he said.

"But a historic day. The mugshot could be used in history books for generations."