Georgia Today: Donald Trump surrenders in Atlanta; State unemployment declines; Savannah town square

Peter Biello: Welcome to the Georgia Today podcast from GPB News. Today is Friday, Aug. 25. I'm Peter Biello. On today's episode, former President Donald Trump surrendered to authorities in Fulton County yesterday after being indicted last week. Georgia reports a decline in unemployment in a controversial town square in Savannah finally has a new name. These stories and more are coming up on this edition of Georgia Today.

Story 1:

Peter Biello: All 19 people indicted in a scheme to illegally overturn the results of Georgia's 2020 presidential election have turned themselves in at the Fulton County Jail. The deadline to do so was at noon today. The scheme's most high-profile defendant, former President Donald Trump, was booked last night. All but one of those charged had a bond agreement in place and were released after booking.

For Donald Trump. This was the fourth set of indictments this year. For some context, GPB's Orlando Montoya spoke with American University history professor Allan Lichtman.

Orlando Montoya: As a presidential historian, what struck you most about the events of this evening, including the pictures we've been seeing on television?

Allan Lichtman: I think what we saw really brings home the fact that this is the most serious indictment in the history of the United States, because it accuses Donald Trump of orchestrating a conspiracy, a wide-ranging conspiracy in Georgia and beyond, to sabotage our democracy and steal an election.

Orlando Montoya: Will these indictments, especially the one in Georgia, make it more likely that a future Democratic ex-president will face charges, especially by a Republican prosecutor?

Allan Lichtman: Possibly so. But let's not forget, these charges are not because of partisan Democratic motivations. These charges result from what Trump did himself. You know, Donald Trump just said in his post-mugshot interview that he has a right to challenge an election. Absolutely correct. And he did that. There were 60 cases and he lost every single one of them. That should have been the end of it. That's the right he had. He does not have a right, once he's gone through the legal process, to commit crimes like setting up fake electors or pressuring elected officials to keep himself in power. You know, Donald Trump's mugshot is quite revealing. I call it his “Mussolini pose.” Donald Trump loves dictators. In that Tucker Carlson interview, he bragged about his good relationship with murderous dictators. Donald Trump would love to have none of the constraints of democracy that are imposed upon American leaders. And so that “Mussolini pose” is indicative of what Donald Trump is all about.

Orlando Montoya: Your prediction system, Keys to the White House, has correctly predicted the outcomes of all U.S. presidential elections since 1984. What's your read on how this will affect the 2024 presidential election?

Allan Lichtman: Well, the truth is, it doesn't affect the Keys to the White House at all. The Keys to the White House are based upon the proposition that presidential elections are votes up or down on the strength and performance of the White House party, the Democrats under Joe Biden. There's only one key that pertains to the identity of the challenger. That's a very high threshold key. It asks whether the challenging candidate is a Franklin Roosevelt or Ronald Reagan: the once-in-a-generation, broadly inspirational type of candidate.  And even before this, neither Donald Trump nor any of the other Republican aspirants fit that model. That said, the Keys to the White House are based on history. We've never seen anything, historically, like the indictment of a former president and a presidential candidate.

Orlando Montoya: Once this case works its way through the courts and we have a resolution, what will our country look like?

Allan Lichtman: Well, I hope our country will look a lot better. You know, Trump said this is a sad day. It's not a sad day. I hope the country would come together and realize our democracy is precious and needs to be protected like all precious things. Democracy can be destroyed.

Orlando Montoya: American University history professor Allan Lichtman, thank you for joining me today.

Allan Lichtman: My great pleasure.

Story 2:

Peter Biello: While some protesters gathered outside the Fulton County Jail yesterday in support of Trump, others were there to protest the former president. A woman who says she goes by the name CeCe was there in a rat costume, despite temperatures close to 100 degrees. She says Trump should face justice.

CeCe: The peaceful transition of power has always been a hallmark of America, and now he has made us a laughingstock.

Peter Biello: She joined others dressed as rats who were part of a group called Republicans Against Trump — abbreviated R.A.T.

Story 3:

Peter Biello: Some Georgia families may qualify for assistance with their water bills through the low income Household Water Assistance Program. It's part of a federal initiative to help people pay their utility bills. GPB's Sofi Gratas has more.

Sofi Gratas: Georgia's 19 community action agencies are in charge of processing applications for the program. Deputy director of the Southwest Georgia Community Action Council, Beverly Holloway, says they've received close to 6,000 applications since opening August 1st.

Beverly Holloway: This is based on a first-come, first-serve basis. They call in on an automated system, get an appointment. It's after that that we process applications and then mail them to the vendors.

Sofi Gratas: People with past you or unpaid water bills who make up to 60% of the state median income, about $28,000 a year for one person, are eligible for the one-time assistance payment, up to $300 plus the cost of an unpaid water bill. Wellwater users are not eligible. State agencies will take applications through late September. For GPB News I'm Sofi Gratas.

Story 4:

Peter Biello: All of Georgia's regional commissions are reporting a decline in July unemployment numbers. State Labor Commissioner Bruce Thompson said yesterday that the jobless rate fell fastest in the 10-county coastal region, where it was down four-tenths of a percent to 3%.

Caption

Rozz Rouse, who co-chairs the Coalition to Name Taylor Square, poses at the Savannah square formerly named Calhoun Square. She is dressed as Susie King Taylor, a nurse who served with the Union during the Civil War.

Credit: Benjamin Payne / GPB News

Story 5:

Peter Biello: Savannah City Council members have chosen the name of a formerly enslaved Union Army nurse to replace that of a former vice president on one of the city's historic town squares. As GPB's Benjamin Payne reports. The change ends a yearslong process over the square formerly named for John Calhoun, a staunch supporter of slavery.

Benjamin Payne: Without objection, during their meeting Thursday night, Savannah City Council voted to name the former Calhoun Square, Taylor Square after Susie King Taylor. She was born into slavery in nearby Liberty County, volunteered as a nurse for the union during the Civil War and went on to teach newly emancipated Black Americans how to read and write. Savannah resident Pat Gunn helped lead the campaign to rename the former Calhoun Square. Gunn said at the meeting that growing up Black in the '60s, she couldn't even step foot in the square as it was whites only.

Pat Gunn: I did not know that 58 years later I would be able to come and ask you, "The square that was segregated, can you now make it an honor of an honorable woman by the name of Susan King Taylor. Thank you."

Benjamin Payne: Up until this point, none of Savannah's 22 historic town squares had been named after a woman or a person of color. For GPB News, I'm Benjamin Payne in Savannah.

Story 6:

Peter Biello: The jail at which Donald Trump and his 18 allies were processed has a reputation for violence and neglect. That reputation has prompted a federal investigation into conditions there. The Fulton County Jail in Atlanta, known colloquially as the Rice Street Jail, has had three people die in the past month after being found unresponsive in their cells. The U.S. Department of Justice announced earlier this year that it had opened a civil rights investigation into conditions at the jail, with officials citing violence, filthy conditions and the death last year of LaShawn Thompson, whose body was found covered in insects.

Story 7:

Peter Biello: A New York man will serve three months in prison for making threatening phone calls to Republican congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene. 51-year-old Joseph Morelli was sentenced yesterday in federal court in Syracuse after pleading guilty in February to threatening Greene in several calls to her Washington, D.C., office in 2022. Morrelli's lawyer attributes his crimes to bipolar disorder and said her client is now doing everything in his power to work with treatment providers and minimize the struggles that he faces due to his mental health diagnosis.

Story 8:

Peter Biello: Former University of Georgia tennis player John Isner says he plans to retire from professional tennis after playing at the U.S. Open. The 38-year-old announced on social media this week that he's ready to end a career that included a Grand Slam semifinal appearance and a victory in the longest match in the sport's history. For many years, Isner was the highest-ranked American male tennis player. His play has struggled more recently. In 2007, Isner helped Georgia win the NCAA team tennis championship before turning pro that year.

Story 9:

Peter Biello: It is Football Friday all across Georgia and GPB ranks the top 10 teams in each classification every week at GPB.org/sports. Notably, going into tonight's games, Fitzgerald is ranked No. 1 in Class 2A, Ware County tops 5A. Langston Hughes is the No. 1-ranked team in Class 6A, and Buford, who does not play tonight, is ranked top amongst the teams in Class 7A. Buford is also ranked in the top five nationally among many polls.

And that's it for this edition of Georgia Today. If you want to learn more about any of these stories, visit our website, GPB.org/news. If you haven't yet, hit subscribe on this podcast. Take a moment right now and keep us current on your podcast feed. If you've got feedback, we want to hear from you. Email us. The address is GeorgiaToday@GPB.org. I'm Peter Biello. Thanks again for listening. We'll see you next week.

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For more on these stories and more, go to GPB.org/news.

Read the latest updates on the Georgia indictments here.