The Atlanta, Georgia, jailhouse where former President Donald Trump is set to be booked and processed on charges related to a purported scheme to overturn the 2020 presidential election is going to be a "slap in the face" for the former president and his co-defendants, former FBI official Frank Figliuzzi said.
Trump is expected to surrender himself to authorities on Thursday at the Fulton County Jail. The former president's attorneys struck a $200,000 bond deal earlier this week, which will allow Trump to be released from prison as long as he adheres to the judge's orders.
Several of Trump's co-defendants attached to the Georgia election case have already been processed by authorities. Former Trump White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows surrendered himself to authorities earlier in the day Thursday, and was released on a $100,000 bond. Ex-New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani—former personal attorney to Trump—was also booked and released on Wednesday.
While the indictment from Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis is the fourth set of criminal charges handed to Trump since March, the Georgia case has attracted extra attention: Unlike the other times Trump has been arrested, the former president is expected to have a mugshot taken after he surrenders.
The jailhouse has also garnered national attention, with a controversial history of violence and instances of neglect for defendants held there. According to a report from the Associated Press (AP), the overpopulated jail, nicknamed the Rice Street jail, has prompted numerous federal investigations into the treatment of inmates.
Figliuzzi, who spoke with MSNBC's Nicolle Wallace on Thursday, noted that the mugshots taken of Trump and his allies "are far more than just someone's image. They are, in fact, a snapshot of history."
"This is history in the making," said Figliuzzi, who previously served as FBI assistant director for counterintelligence. "That Rice Street Jail you spoke of in Fulton County, with all of its issues, is where corruption is colliding with consequences. And that's what we're seeing in these mugshots."
"It is a slap in the face for anybody of ... this kind of stature to come in and get processed in that facility," he continued. "And Americans need to see that; the world needs to see this in a historical perspective."
According to AP, Fulton County Jail was roughly 500 people above-capacity earlier this year. In the last month, three inmates have died, found unresponsive in their cells. AP reports that two of them were being held in a medical unit.
The Justice Department announced in July that it was opening an investigation into the conditions at the Georgia jail, citing "serious allegations of unsafe, unsanitary living conditions at the jail, excessive force and violence within the jail, discrimination against incarcerated individuals with mental health issues, and failure to provide adequate medical care to incarcerated individuals."
Newsweek reached out to the Fulton County Sheriff's Office for comment.
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Kaitlin Lewis is a Newsweek reporter on the Night Team based in Boston, Massachusetts. Her focus is reporting on national ... Read more
