A motorcade has left former US president Donald Trump's golf club in Bedminster, New Jersey ahead of his expected surrender at a jail in Atlanta, Georgia to face charges stemming from his effort to overturn his 2020 election loss, in the fourth criminal case against him this year.
Like other criminal defendants in Atlanta, Mr Trump will have to appear at the Fulton County Jail to be fingerprinted and photographed - a mug shot that is certain to be widely circulated by backers and detractors alike as he campaigns to win back the White House in November of next year.
The Republican faces 13 counts including racketeering, which is typically used to target organised crime, for pressuring state officials to reverse his election loss to Democratic President Joe Biden.
Mr Trump, 77, has denied wrongdoing and attacked the case as politically motivated. He will not enter a plea at this appearance.
He has agreed to post $200,000 (€185,000) bond and accepted bail conditions that would bar him from threatening witnesses or his 18 co-defendants in the case.
One of those co-defendants, Mark Meadows - a former aide to Mr Trump - surrendered to Fulton County authorities this evening and was booked, according to records posted on the sheriff's website.
Ahead of the former president's arrival, the Federal Aviation Administration has ordered the airspace over the prison be closed beginning around 6.45pm local time (11.45 Irish time), citing "VIP movement".
The jail has a reputation for grim conditions that have inspired rap songs and prompted an investigation by the US Department of Justice.
It is unclear how many supporters will turn up in sweltering heat to support Mr Trump.
He called for nationwide protests after his first criminal indictment in New York in March, prompting fears of violent unrest along the lines of the January 2021 attack on the US Capitol.
Authorities have reported no violent incidents outside the courthouses in Manhattan, Miami and Washington where he has been arraigned this year.
Mr Trump's brief jailhouse visit comes one day after his rivals for the 2024 Republican presidential nomination met in Milwaukee for their initial debate.
He skipped that event, instead sitting for a pre-recorded interview with conservative commentator Tucker Carlson on social media.
"I've been indicted four times - all trivial nonsense," he said.
Mr Trump's lead in opinion polls has widened since his first indictment, and his supporters say they believe the charges are politically motivated.
But analysts say his legal woes could alienate the independent voters he would need to win in a general-election matchup with Mr Biden, the incumbent who defeated him by seven million votes in 2020.
Mr Trump, the first former US president to be charged with crimes, faces 91 separate counts overall.
He has been charged in Washington DC over his efforts to overturn the election, in Florida over his handling of classified documents upon leaving office, and in New York over a hush money payment to adult film star Stormy Daniels.
In Georgia, Mr Trump is accused of pressuring state officials and setting up a slate of illegitimate electors to reverse his 2020 defeat.
He claims he won the 2020 election and has assailed all four cases as politically motivated.
He is due to enter a plea in the Georgia case on 5 September and has pleaded not guilty in the other three cases.
A number of Mr Trump's co-defendants in the Georgia case, including his former lawyer Rudy Giuliani, have surrendered to authorities.
They face a deadline of tomorrow to comply or face arrest.
