After undergoing the legal process of being arrested, photographed, fingerprinted and bailed out for parole, inmate number P01135809 – Donald Trump – on Thursday denounced his “travesty of justice” and “election meddling” 2024 by authorities in the state of Atlanta, where he has been charged.

“I didn’t do anything wrong and everyone knows it,” insisted the tycoon, who plans to run for the White House again in a year or so, after he was formally arrested on the case of the attempt by him and his associates to overturn his defeat by the Democrat succeeding Joe Biden in that state in the 2020 election.

Mr. Trump, 77, remained in the Fulton County Jail for about 20 minutes.

Although the Republican is facing four criminal charges, his tactic of portraying himself as a victim of political persecution has if anything helped boost his popularity, at least among his party’s voters. He is leading by a wide margin in the race for the GOP nominee, polls show.

Dozens of his supporters, holding placards and American flags, had gathered outside the courthouse yesterday, hoping to catch a glimpse of their leader. Among them was Marjorie Taylor Green, an elected state lawmaker, a staunch ally of Mr. Trump’s in Congress with not infrequently extreme policy positions.

The photo from Mr Trump’s arrest will become “more popular than the Mona Lisa”, Laura Loomer, a 30-year-old former candidate for the House of Representatives, said as she waited outside the courthouse, adding that she plans to print it on a T-shirt. .