Scores of Trump supporters gather outside Georgia jail ahead of his expected surrender

Hours before former President Donald Trump was expected to turn himself in at the Fulton County Jail on charges related to his efforts to remain in power after his 2020 election loss, dozens of his supporters had already gathered Thursday morning outside the facility.

And the crowd grew steadily as the day progressed.

It will be the fourth time this year that Trump, the early front-runner in the 2024 Republican presidential primary, is booked on criminal charges. But unlike his previous arrests, which happened in courthouses just before initial appearances before a judge, this time he will be turning himself in at a notoriously troubled jail.

Also different from his previous surrenders, authorities are expected to take a booking photo of the former president.

Trump and 18 others were indicted last week, accused by Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis of participating in a sprawling scheme to undermine the will of Georgia voters who had narrowly rejected the Republican incumbent in favour of Democrat Joe Biden. Many of the others charged turned themselves in at the jail earlier in this week, including Rudy Giuliani, Sidney Powell and Jenna Ellis on Wednesday and John Eastman on Tuesday.

Fulton County Sheriff Pat Labat has said Trump, and the others in this case, will be treated like anyone else — notably saying at a news conference earlier this month: “Unless somebody tells me differently, we are following our normal practices, and so it doesn’t matter your status, we’ll have a mugshot ready for you.”

But the scene outside the jail was anything but normal on Thursday.

It included supporters of the former president such as Cliff MacMorris, 66, from Naples, Florida, who held a flag that read, “Trump Won Save America.”

He and his wife, Georgine, spent the night in Atlanta.

“You don’t have the right to persecute somebody unjustly,” Cliff MacMorris said.

His wife said the indictments against the former president were politically motivated because of the four years of “prosperity, safety, freedom” that Trump achieved in the White House.

“They must be worried about him for some reason,” she said.

Sharon Anderson, 67, from east Tennessee, was outside the jail for a second straight day. She had spent the night in a car with the air conditioning running.

“I’m here to support Donald J. Trump. I want him to see some of the millions that show up at the polls for him."

She said the indictments against Trump had only strengthened her support for him. The former president questioned the election results, which isn’t a crime, she said.