Former President Donald Trump pleaded not guilty to criminal charges related to his involvement in a sweeping scheme to overturn the 2020 presidential election results in Georgia and waived his right to appear at an arraignment scheduled for next week.
“Understanding my rights, I do hereby freely and voluntarily waive my right to be present at my
arraignment on the Indictment and my right to have it read to me in open court,” the former president said in the court filing presented on Thursday.
The arraignment is set for the morning of Sept. 6 at Fulton County Superior Court in Atlanta.
Earlier this month, Trump and 18 of his closest allies were accused in a 41-count indictment brought by Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis of coordinating a racketeering scheme, which involved spreading conspiracy theories, pressuring elected officials and propping up fake electors to overturn the 2020 presidential election results in Georgia in a desperate effort to remain in power despite having lost the presidency in a free and fair vote.
The indictment marks the fourth set of criminal charges against Trump, who now faces a cumulative 91 felony counts in New York state court for hush money payments to porn star Stormy Daniels, in federal court in Florida where he’s been accused of mishandling classified documents, and in federal court in the District of Columbia in connection with efforts to prevent the peaceful transfer of power and incite a violent insurrection at the Capitol and in Georgia.
Trump has pleaded not guilty to all charges and denied wrongdoing in all the cases against him. He continues to repeat unfounded claims that the 2020 presidential election was “rigged and stolen” and that the indictments that followed amount to a witch hunt and election interference. In reality, Trump lost the general election to Biden, and, in Georgia specifically, he lost by some 11,779 votes.
Trump faces 13 criminal charges in Georgia, the most serious of which is violating the state’s Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act, known as RICO. That charge alone carries a minimum prison sentence of five years and a maximum sentence of 20 years. Trump also faces a slew of fraud and forgery charges.
Trump, the current front-runner in the GOP presidential primary race, was booked on Aug. 24. The conditions for his release included a $200,000 bond and strict conditions on his social media use. Among other things, he must not violate any laws in Georgia or elsewhere, he must appear in court as directed, he must not communicate about the facts of the case with fellow co-defendants – except through his legal team – and he must not intimidate co-defendants or witnesses.
Willis asked the overseeing Trump’s case, Judge Scott McAfee, to expedite the cases of all 19 defendants, but McAfee has not yet set a date for his trial.
。记者 陈中秋 摄
C | 记者 陈中秋 摄" />昨天傍晚，镇水神兽趴蝮，运河水已淹过石礅底座。记者 陈中秋 摄台风“白海豚”给杭州带来大风和强降水，前天有网友发帖：路过拱宸桥看到运河涨水，四只神兽快被淹了。
D | 昨天上午10点，记者来到拱宸桥。运河两岸的游步道拉起安全警戒线，地势低的地方被水没过，一家店的员工正往外舀水。桥南桥北，左右各有两只神兽，眼睛注视着水面。河水涨了，水面没过它们的脚和尾巴，远远看去，似乎一低头就能喝到水。到京杭大运河拱宸桥的游客，总要被水中趴卧的四只神兽吸引，拍照打卡。一个小朋友指着神兽问，这是什么？快被水淹了，会不会被冲走呀？孩子妈妈解释，它们是镇水神兽，洪水怕它们，不敢兴风作浪。这不是它们离水面最近的一次。浙江省水利厅8月11日最新发布水文简报：拱宸桥当前水位2.86米，警戒水位2.66米，保证水位3.16米，超保超警幅度0.2米。2013年10月6日，受台风“菲特”影响，运河水大涨，有人拍到拱宸桥下的趴蝮（又名蚣蝮gōng fù）如一条鳄鱼浮在水面。
E | 龙王第六个儿子成镇水神兽拱宸桥下这四只神兽，民间称趴蝮(bā xià)，面目威严，兽首獠牙微露，浑身鳞甲虬结，四肢盘曲遒劲，石块刻出饱满的肌肉线条，筋骨隆起，仿佛蛰伏水中的上古异兽，蓄势欲动。明代杨慎《升庵外集》记载：“俗传龙生九子，不成龙，各有所好……六曰蚣蝮，性好水，故立于桥柱。”早在宋元年间，江南运河、古桥桥墩就有人雕刻镇水神兽，用来防撞桥墩、祈求防洪。传说龙生九子，各个不同，有镇水、镇火避雷、钟鼓香火、兵器杀伐……单独去识记，名字就有些复杂，像“赑屃”“蚣蝮”“螭吻”“蒲牢”……老底子杭州人章先生告诉记者，相传很久以前，蚣蝮因为触犯天条，被贬下凡，压在巨大沉重的龟壳下看守运河一千年，千年后终于脱离龟壳，重获自由。千年来趴蝮护河有功，人们为了表彰它，就照着它的模样雕成石像，摆在河边的石墩上，用来镇住河妖，防止洪水侵袭，这就是所谓“趴蝮镇水”。守护拱宸桥21年多次被货船撞到落水这四只趴蝮2005年安装落成。除了“镇水”的寓意，还有美观、防船撞桥、监测水位的实际功能。运河水运繁忙，南来北往的船只过桥屡有撞击剐蹭。2012年快报热线新闻曾报道：读者杜先生带着儿子在拱宸桥上散步，突然感觉一抖，往下一看，一艘装满石子的货船撞到了桥墩边的一只神兽趴蝮。
F | 还有人拍到趴蝮被撞落水瞬间。2005年以来，趴蝮至少4次被撞落水。
G | 2013年有读者拍到，四只神兽只剩一只坚守。趴蝮的每一次被撞，都牵动杭州人的心，媒体多有报道。
H | 撞击、落水、打捞、修复、安装……这些神兽存在的意义，不止停留在神话里镇水的虚指，更结结实实保护着拱宸桥这座古桥，试想，两三百吨的运沙船如果直接撞到桥墩，那是多么不堪承受的冲击。自从安装上防撞墩和趴蝮后，拱宸桥被撞的次数少多了，代价是趴蝮几次被撞得歪斜，甚至掉进河里。2009年5月5日，一只趴蝮再次被撞，当天快报记者将情况告知杭州市运河集团，接电话的工作人员听后第一句话是：“啊，又被撞啦！”然后说，马上派人到现场查看。京杭大运河起于北京终于杭州。
I | 拱宸桥是京杭大运河上的最后一座桥，而北京的后门桥是京杭大运河上的第一座桥，后门桥的四角也有四只趴蝮。
昨天傍晚，一只夜鹭站在趴蝮身上。
