Donald Trump says he'll 'proudly' be arrested as he releases fresh statement on charges
Republican presidential candidate and former U.S. President Donald Trump speaks as he campaigns at the Iowa State Fair in Des Moines, Iowa
REUTERS
Donald Trump has said he is preparing to be proudly arrested in Georgia on Thursday over election fraud charges.
The former President, who is running in his third successive White House campaign, said on Truth Social: "Nobody has ever fought for election integrity like President Donald J Trump.
"For doing so, I will proudly be arrested tomorrow afternoon in Georgia. God Bless the United States of America!"
Trump and 18 co-defendants were charged on August 14 with attempting to overturn the 2020 election result in the Peach State.
Donald Trump is the frontrunner for the GOP nominationReutersThe defendants were given a deadline of Friday at noon to hand themselves in for booking.
The 77-year-old will likely surrender at the Fulton County jail in Atlanta.
Trump, who lost to Joe Biden in Georgia by just 11,779 ballots, was set a $200,000 bail.
He was also ordered not to send threatening social media messages.
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Donald Trump previously arriving at court
ReutersThe 45th President will provide fingerprints and could even have his mugshot taken.
Trump's surrender comes after he announced he would skill the Republican Party's first primary debate this week.
Allies of the former Commander-in-Chief have descended on Milwaukee ahead of tonight's debate.
Recent opinion polls suggest Trump's lead over his rivals in the Grand Old Party is around 41 per cent.
Supporters of Republican presidential candidate and former U.S. President Donald Trump, who is expected to skip the first primary debate of the 2024 campaign against his fellow Republican candidates, walk around the arena with Trump campaign signs the day before the debate in Milwaukee, Wisconsin
REUTERS
However, Biden leads Trump in RealClearPolitics' aggregate poll for 2024 by just 1.1 points.
Despite narrowly trailing behind his successor, a one-point deficit could be enough for the property-tycoon-turned-politician to drag Georgia back into the Republican column.
Trump became the first President or former President to ever be indicted earlier this year following an investigation into alleged hush money with adult actress Stormy Daniels.
He faces a further 40 felony counts in Florida for hoarding classified documents and impeding efforts to retrieve them from his Mar-a-Lago mansion.
Trump is also accused of four felony counts for his efforts to overturn the 2020 election.