Supporters fear for Trump's life in 'dangerous' Fulton County Jail
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Someone who worked at the infamous jail described it as "stinky, dirty & dangerous."
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Fulton County Jail seen on April 2, 2013, in Atlanta (David Goldman/AP)
Following reports that former President Donald Trump and those indicted this week by a Georgia grand jury would be detained at an Atlanta jail that is currently the subject of a federal investigation, some of the ex-President's supporters expressed worry for his life.
This week was the fourth time since taking office that the former US President has been charged with Trump and 18 of his associates being charged under Georgia's racketeering legislation by the district attorney of Fulton County, Fani Willis, who said there was a vast conspiracy to fraudulently overturn Trump's loss in the 2020 election and keep him in office. Trump has consistently criticized Willis' thorough inquiry as political retaliation while denying any wrongdoing.
The defendants have until 12 pm on August 25 to surrender, according to Willis, after which they will be booked at the Fulton County Jail, as per the Fulton County Sheriff's Office.
Read: Trump announces upcoming release of report on Georgia election fraud
"At this point, based on guidance received from the district attorney's office and presiding judge, it is expected that all 19 defendants named in the indictment will be booked at the Rice Street Jail," the office's spokeswoman Natalie Ammons said in a statement on Tuesday, giving Fulton County Jail an alternative name.
"Keep in mind, defendants can turn themselves in at any time. The jail is open 24/7. Also, due to the unprecedented nature of this case, some circumstances may change with little or no warning," she said.
Trump backers have asserted that if he were detained at the Atlanta facility, his life would be in danger.
Charles Downs wrote in a post on X that "the Biden DOJ is currently investigating the Fulton County Jail for safety violations," adding that "despite this, the Democrats are going to force Donald Trump to be arrested at this dangerous facility. The deranged globalists are intentionally putting a president's life in danger."
The Biden DOJ is currently investigating the Fulton County Jail for safety violations. Despite this, the Democrats are going to force Donald Trump to be arrested at this dangerous facility. The deranged globalists are intentionally putting a president’s life in danger. pic.twitter.com/7F8YKn8gg6
— Charles R Downs (@TheCharlesDowns) August 16, 2023
Others also drew attention to the jail's conditions and the number of fatalities there.
"I wouldn't wish the conditions in the Fulton County jail on my worst enemy," said a law professor at Georgia State University, Anthony Michael Kreis, in a post on the platform.
"If you think that making jokes about jail in Atlanta is all well and good because Donald Trump is the butt of them, you may wish to stop and inform yourself of the inhumane ways people have died there," he added.
However, others were not as much worried.
"Do the crime in Fulton County, do the time in the Fulton County Jail. Do the crime in DC, go to trial in DC," author Teresa Hill wrote.
The jail was "stinky, dirty & dangerous," according to someone who said they had worked there.
"I worked at Fulton County Jail where I guess Trump will go if denied bail (at least for a short time). It was a hot mess," they wrote in a post on X.
The civil rights division of the Justice Department opened an investigation into the facility in July, looking into the institution's filthy conditions and the death of Lashawn Thompson, whose body was discovered last year covered in insects.
Read next: Georgia charges against Trump include 161 'overt acts' of conspiracy
The Department also stated, in a news release, that there are credible claims that "an incarcerated person died covered in insects and filth, that the Fulton County Jail is structurally unsafe, that prevalent violence has resulted in serious injuries and homicides, and that officers are being prosecuted for using excessive force."
Investigators will examine the living circumstances, accessibility to medical and mental health care, and staff's use of excessive force.
Three months after being lodged in jail on a misdemeanor violence charge, Thompson passed away in a bedbug-infested cell in the psychiatric wing in September 2022.
However, the facts surrounding his death were made public earlier this year after a lawyer for his family published images showing his face and body covered in insects.
"If you see the photos of the cell that this man was in, you're gonna be outraged," attorney Michael B. Harper told Newsweek. "I mean, it was a filthy, deplorable cell that was really inhumane. The pictures speak for themselves."
According to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, Fulton County commissioners decided earlier this month to approve a $4 million settlement with Thompson's family.
Thompson was one of the 15 inmates who passed away at the institution last year, Atlanta magazine reported. This year has seen a number of more deaths, including two in the past month.
The magazine reported that in the prison just last year alone there were 11 fires, 534 fights, 114 stabbings, and at least two murders.
The sheriff in Fulton County, Pat Labat, welcomed the DOJ probe and stated that they were "prepared to cooperate fully."
"The humanitarian crisis at the Fulton County Rice Street Jail is not new," he stated last month. "I have publicly, privately, and repeatedly raised concerns about the dangerous overcrowding, dilapidated infrastructure and critical staffing shortages at the jail."
He continued by expressing his expectation that the DOJ's inquiry will reveal that the jail is "not viable" and that a new facility is required.
Email requests for comments have been sent to the Trump spokeswoman and the Fulton County Sheriff's Office.
