Former US President Donald Trump pleaded not guilty Thursday in Georgia to allegations that he organised a criminal plot to reverse his 2020 election loss.
The Republican presidential frontrunner, who is charged with 13 felonies, including racketeering, submitted his plea in a court document, waiving his right to attend at his arraignment next Wednesday.
Trump, 77, turned himself in to the Fulton County jail in Atlanta last Thursday, becoming the first former US president to be photographed in a police mug shot.
Trump, who was released on $200,000 bond and assigned the inmate number “PO1135809,” was accused of conspiring with 18 other defendants in a multi-pronged effort to overturn his defeat in Georgia.
The billionaire has been indicted four times since April, setting the stage for a year of extraordinary drama as he juggles frequent court appearances and another White House bid.
Trump is requesting that his case be separated from that of co-defendants who have requested a quick trial, including Kenneth Chesebro, a Trump campaign lawyer who is scheduled to appear before a jury in October.
Prosecutors in Fulton County want all defendants to begin their sentences in October.
Trump’s detention comes a day after he refused to participate in a televised debate in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, with eight of his competitors for the Republican presidential nomination in 2024, all of whom trail him in the polls.
All but two of the candidates declared during the discussion that they would support him as the party’s nominee even if he were a convicted felon.
Trump is the first president of the United States to face criminal accusations.
If his trials are held next year, they will coincide with the Republican presidential primary season, which begins in January, and the campaign for the November 2024 presidential election.
