Trump plans to turn himself in over Georgia indictment

Former president Donald Trump plans to turn himself in and be processed in Atlanta on Thursday in connection with his indictment in Georgia, he said on social media on Monday.

"I'll be going to Atlanta, Georgia, on Thursday to be ARRESTED," Trump said on his Truth Social platform. He described the indictment as a politically motivated effort to derail his re-election campaign.

CNN earlier reported that Trump planned to surrender at the Fulton County jail in Georgia on Thursday. The date was set during negotiations between Trump's lawyers and the Fulton County district attorney's office on Monday over Trump's consent bond and release conditions, CNN reported.

In a 98-page Georgia indictment revealed last week, Trump and 18 other defendants were charged with a total of 41 criminal counts in connection with efforts to overturn the former president's loss in the 2020 election in the state.

When Trump surrenders, there will be a "hard lockdown" of the area surrounding the Rice Street Jail, the local sheriff's office said earlier on Monday.

Trump will face a US$200,000 (RM929,500) bond and orders not to send threatening social media messages as the he awaits trial in Georgia on charges of trying to overturn his 2020 election loss, according to a bond agreement on Monday signed by Trump's attorneys and Fulton Country district attorney Fani Willis.

Trump, the front runner for the 2024 Republican presidential nomination, and his co-defendants were indicted on Aug 14. Willis gave them until Friday at noon ET (1600 GMT) to surrender or face arrest.

Prosecutors in the case have proposed that the trial start on March 4, while Trump's lawyers have asked for a 2026 trial.

Trump's surrender on Thursday will come a day after the first Republican primary presidential debate that the former president does not plan to attend.