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U.S. NEWS Friday 25 august 2023

Scores of Trump fans gather outside Georgia jail to show support

ahead of his expected surrender

By SUDHIN THANAWALA said. vict Trump” and “Trump is a
and KATE BRUMBACK His wife said the indict- Traitor.” She said she’d also
Associated Press ments against the former traveled to other places
ATLANTA (AP) — Hours be- president were politically where Trump was indicted.
fore former President Don- motivated because of As midday temperatures
ald Trump was expected the four years of “prosper- hovered near 90 degrees,
to turn himself in at the Ful- ity, safety, freedom” that sheriff’s deputies in vests
ton County Jail on charges Trump achieved in the toweled off and sought
related to his efforts to re- White House. shade under a tree.
main in power after his 2020 “They must be worried The main Fulton County
election loss, dozens of his about him for some rea- Jail, also known as the Rice
supporters had already son,” she said. Street Jail, is located in a
gathered Thursday morn- Sharon Anderson, 67, from traditionally industrial part
ing outside the facility. east Tennessee, was out- of northwest Atlanta where
And the crowd grew steadi- side the jail for a second warehouses are currently
ly as the day progressed. straight day. She had spent being redeveloped for re-
It will be the fourth time this the night in a car with the tail and residential use. It’s
year that Trump, the early Former President Donald Trump’s supporters gather outside of air conditioning running. set back from the street by
the Fulton County Jail, Thursday, Aug. 24, 2023, in Atlanta.
front-runner in the 2024 Re- Associated Press “I’m here to support Don- a long, tree-lined driveway
publican presidential pri- ald J. Trump. I want him that leads to a parking lot
mary, is booked on criminal the will of Georgia voters tells me differently, we are to see some of the millions in front of the jail’s imposing
charges. But unlike his pre- who had narrowly rejected following our normal prac- that show up at the polls for façade.
vious arrests, which hap- the Republican incumbent tices, and so it doesn’t mat- him.” On most days, the public
pened in courthouses just in favor of Democrat Joe ter your status, we’ll have a She said the indictments and news media are free
before initial appearances Biden. Many of the oth- mugshot ready for you.” against Trump had only to drive right up to the front
before a judge, this time he ers charged turned them- But the scene outside the strengthened her support of the jail and news camer-
will be turning himself in at selves in at the jail earlier in jail was anything but nor- for him. The former presi- as have captured the arriv-
a notoriously troubled jail. this week, including Rudy mal Thursday. dent questioned the elec- als and departures of many
Also different from his previ- Giuliani, Sidney Powell and It included supporters of tion results, which isn’t a high-profile people who
ous surrenders: authorities Jenna Ellis on Wednesday the former president such crime, she said. have been booked into the
are expected to take a and John Eastman on Tues- as Cliff MacMorris, 66, from While the crowd was mostly jail. But with the booking of
booking photo of the for- day. Naples, Florida, who held a made up of Trump support- a former president looming,
mer president. Fulton County Sheriff Pat flag that read, “Trump Won ers, 64-year-old Laurie Ar- the driveway off the main
Trump and 18 others were Labat has said Trump, and Save America.” beiter, who is from New York street in front of the jail has
indicted last week, ac- the others in this case, will He and his wife, Georgine, City, wore a shirt that said been closed off for days,
cused by Fulton County be treated like anyone else spent the night in Atlanta. “Arrest Trump” and carried with no reporters or cam-
District Attorney Fani Willis — notably saying at a news “You don’t have the right more than 50 black-and- eras allowed within viewing
of participating in a sprawl- conference earlier this to persecute somebody white signs with her, includ- distance of the building.q
ing scheme to undermine month: “Unless somebody unjustly,” Cliff MacMorris ing ones that read “Con-

Maui County sues utility, alleging negligence over fires that ravaged

Lahaina

By JENNIFER SINCO KELLE- ity had a duty “to properly The lawsuit notes other utili-
HER and GENE JOHNSON maintain and repair the ties, such as Southern Cali-
Associated Press electric transmission lines, fornia Edison Company,
HONOLULU (AP) — Maui and other equipment in- Pacific Gas & Electric, and
County sued Hawaiian cluding utility poles asso- San Diego Gas & Electric,
Electric Company on Thurs- ciated with their transmis- have all implemented Pub-
day over the fires that dev- sion of electricity, and to lic Safety Power Shutoffs
astated Lahaina, saying keep vegetation properly during during high wind
the utility negligently failed trimmed and maintained events and said the “se-
to shut off power despite so as to prevent contact vere and catastrophic
exceptionally high winds with overhead power lines losses ... could have easily
and dry conditions. and other electric equip- been prevented” if Hawai-
Witness accounts and vid- ment.” ian Electric had a similar
eo indicated that sparks The utility knew that high shutoff plan.
from power lines ignited A general view shows the aftermath of a devastating wildfire in winds “would topple power The county said it is seeking
Lahaina, Hawaii, Tuesday, Aug. 22, 2023.
fires as utility poles snapped Associated Press poles, knock down power compensation for damage
in the winds, which were lines, and ignite vegeta- to public property and re-
driven by a passing hurri- ian Electric didn’t immedi- powerlines during the pre- tion,” the lawsuit said. “De- sources in Lahaina as well
cane. The Aug. 8 fire killed ately respond to an email dicted high-wind gusts, this fendants also knew that if as nearby Kula.
at least 115 people and seeking comment. destruction could have their overhead electrical Other utilities have been
left an unknown number of Had the utility heeded been avoided,” the lawsuit equipment ignited a fire, it found liable for devastat-
others missing. weather service “warnings said. would spread at a critically ing fires recently.q
A spokesperson for Hawai- and de-energized their The lawsuit said the util- rapid rate.”