Former US President Donald Trump Pleads Not Guilty in Georgia Election Fraud Case: Latest Updates

Former US President Donald Trump has pleaded not guilty in his Georgia election fraud case, waiving the right to appear in court next week.

Trump is among 19 people charged with a conspiracy to overturn the US state’s 2020 vote results.

He turned himself in at Fulton County Jail in Atlanta last week, where he had his mugshot taken.

Trump has repeatedly denied any wrongdoing, describing the case as politically motivated.

In total, Trump faces 13 felony counts – including racketeering – for allegedly pressuring Georgia officials to reverse the results of the 2020 presidential election in that state.

In a court document filed on Thursday, Trump said he “fully understands” the nature of the allegations and his right to appear in court.

“Understanding my rights, I do hereby freely and voluntarily waive my right to be present at my arraignment on the indictment and my right to have it read to me in open court,” the signed document says.

Trump, the current frontrunner for the 2024 Republican presidential nomination, has appeared at each of his three previous arraignments.

He was required to do so for the cases he is facing in New York and Florida, and opted not to request a virtual appearance for a separate case in Washington DC.

In all three cases, there was tight security as Trump supporters and counter-protesters gathered near the courthouses.

Georgia’s Fulton County is the only jurisdiction in which he is facing charges where defendants can choose not to appear in court when they are formally charged in criminal cases.

Brian Tevis, an Atlanta attorney who represents one of Trump’s co-accused, Rudy Giuliani, told CBS, the BBC’s US partner, that “99 per cent of the time” defendants who are given the option choose to waive their arraignment.

Earlier this week, three other co-defendants in the case entered not guilty pleas, including former Trump attorneys Ray Stallings Smith and Sidney Powell, as well as former celebrity publicist Trevian Kutti.

Trump was originally due to be arraigned on September 6, followed by the other defendants in 15-minute intervals.

All 19 defendants in the case – including Trump – are charged with violating Georgia’s Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organisations Act, commonly known as the Rico act. (BBC)