Donald Trump plans to turn himself in on Thursday over Georgia indictment

Former US president said on social media he will head to Atlanta to be processed for the election indictment

Security officers patrol the perimeter of the Fulton County Court in Atlanta, Georgia, on August 21. Bloomberg

Former US president Donald Trump plans to turn himself in and be processed in Atlanta on Thursday in connection with his indictment in Georgia.

He has described the indictment as a politically motivated effort to derail his re-election campaign.

“I'll be going to Atlanta, Georgia, on Thursday to be arrested,” Mr Trump said on his social media platform Truth Social.

CNN earlier reported that Mr Trump planned to surrender at the Fulton County jail in Georgia on Thursday.

The date was set during negotiations between his lawyers and the Fulton County District Attorney's office on Monday over his consent bond and release conditions, CNN reported.

In a 98-page Georgia indictment revealed last week, Mr Trump and 18 other defendants were charged with a total of 41 criminal counts in connection with efforts to overturn the former president's loss in the 2020 election in the state.

When he surrenders, there will be a “hard lockdown” of the area surrounding the Rice Street Jail, the local sheriff's office said earlier on Monday.

Mr Trump will face a $200,000 bond and orders not to send threatening social media messages as he awaits trial in Georgia on charges of trying to overturn his 2020 election loss, according to a bond agreement on Monday signed by his lawyers and Fulton Country district attorney Fani Willis.

Mr Trump, the front-runner for the 2024 Republican presidential nomination, and his co-defendants were indicted on August 14.

Ms Willis gave them until noon on Friday to surrender or face arrest.

Mr Trump's surrender on Thursday will come a day after the first Republican primary presidential debate, which he does not plan to attend.