LAWRENCEVILLE, Ga. — On Thursday, former President Donald Trump turned himself over to Fulton County authorities to be booked on charges he worked with more than a dozen people to overturn Georgia's 2020 presidential election results.
Trump's whirlwind surrender -- clocking in at less than 16 minutes for the booking process -- brought with it a historic first: A mugshot for a or former U.S. president. (Fulton County officials had promised he would be booked like any other defendant.)
As part of the conditions for his negotiated release on bond, Trump had to post a $200,000 bail. 11Alive learned that attorneys for Trump worked with a Lawrenceville-based bail bond company to pay for former president's bail, calling the business more than a week ago to start making arrangements for not only Trump, but also some of his co-defendants.
11Alive's Doug Richards spoke to the officer manager for Foster Bail Bond off Hwy 316 in Lawrenceville who confirmed working with the attorneys.
How does the bond process work?
Typically, the bonding company will pay the full amount for the bail, the money a criminal defendant must pay in order to get out of jail. In Trump's case, that amount was $200,000.
A defendant would then pay a percentage of that amount to the bond company.
While the bonding company takes the risk for defendants, it does get all the money back plus a fee -- usually about 10 to 20% -- once the case is adjudicated.
Georgia Election Indictment Mugshots
What happened after his surrender?
After he was released on $200,000 bond, Trump headed back to the airport for his return flight home to New Jersey, flashing a thumbs-up through the window of his sport utility vehicle as his motorcade left.
Unrepentant but subdued after the brief jail visit, he insisted as has repeatedly has that he "did nothing wrong" and called the case accusing him of subverting election results a “travesty of justice.”
“If you challenge an election, you should be able to challenge an election," he told reporters on the airport tarmac before boarding his plane.
The Fulton County prosecution is the fourth criminal case against Trump since March, when he became the first former president in U.S. history to be indicted. Since then, he's faced federal charges in Florida and Washington, and this month he was indicted in Atlanta with 18 others — including his ex-chief of staff, Mark Meadows, and former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani — under a racketeering statute normally associated with gang members and organized crime.
Material from the Associated Press contributed to this report.