ATLANTA — Former President Donald Trump is expected to make his historic journey to Atlanta to surrender himself at the Fulton County Jail on Thursday.
Trump made a Truth Social post saying that he will be "arrested" in Atlanta at 7:30 p.m.
This comes after the former president informed the public on his platform that he will turn himself in on Thursday.
Protesters covered in red "Make America Great Again" hats carrying large flags are outside the jail anticipating Trump's arrival. Some protesters against the former president stood patiently outside the jail waiting on Thursday afternoon.
What time could Trump surrender?
He announced on his social media platform that he will be arrested on Thursday around 7:30 p.m.
"But please excuse me, I have to start getting ready to head down to Atlanta, Georgia, where Murder and other Violent Crimes have reached levels never seen before, to get ARRESTED by a Radical Left, Lowlife District Attorney, Fani Willis, for A PERFECT PHONE CALL, and having the audacity to challenge a RIGGED & STOLEN ELECTION. THE EVIDENCE IS IRREFUTABLE! ARREST TIME: 7:30 P.M.," the former president said in his post.
The Federal Aviation Administration also issued a no-fly zone over the Fulton County Jail with a time that also hinted to when the former president will be booked into the system.
The no-fly zone will be in effect from 6:45 p.m. until 9 p.m. FAA officials listed the reason for the restrictions as "VIP Movement."
To learn more about the temporary restrictions, view the FAA's announcement here.
Why is Trump turning himself in?
Trump and 18 others were recently indicted for attempting to overturn the 2020 election after the former president's lost to now President Joe Biden.
Each defendant including the former president were charged with violating Georgia's RICO act, which is racketeering. They also faced other charges.
The former president faced 13 charges in total in the indictment which was presented by a Fulton County grand jury last Monday.
After the indictment was announced, Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis gave each defendant, including Trump until Friday at noon.
How will traffic be impacted?
- When he's coming?
Let's start with the easy part. We don't have an exact timeline, but we do know NBC News reported yesterday that Trump is expected to travel to Atlanta sometime this afternoon and surrender at the Fulton County Jail in the evening.
Of note, additionally, is that the FAA has a flight restriction above the Fulton County Jail for "VIP" from 6:45 p.m. to 9 p.m. (UPDATE: Trump said a little before 3 p.m. that he would surrender at 7:30 p.m.)
That means he'll probably impact at least some portion of rush hour. Best to plan for that.
- Which way he's coming?
There are, essentially, two likely routes he takes coming from Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport.
But first that caveat we mentioned - it's possible he goes somewhere else first instead of straight to the jail. There's no indication there's any plan for anything like that, but we can't rule out that it happens and scrambles the expected routes.
Another variable is that we don't know whether Trump will enter the jail complex on the Rice Street side or the Jefferson Street side, but that shouldn't really affect the broader overall route.
Acknowledging that possibility, the two likely routes - both about 14 miles in length - are:
I-85/75 to I-20
With this route, Trump would travel up I-85/75 to the point it meets I-20, then head on I-20 West to the Joseph E. Lowery Boulevard exit. Then he'd go about two miles up Lowery Boulevard to Donald Lee Hollowell Parkway (the old Bankhead Highway), go about a half-mile west, then take a right turn onto Marietta Boulevard to go up toward the jail.
This would result in closures on I-85/75, but not through any portion of the Downtown Connector, plus a portion of I-20 and then all of Lowery Blvd. running up to Hollowell Pkwy.