Rudy Giuliani poses for mugshot in Georgia ahead of Trump surrender in 2020 election case

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Former New York City mayor Rudy Giuliani was photographed for a mugshot in Atlanta on Wednesday, after he, Donald Trump, and 17 other associates were indicted this month in Georgia for allegedly conspiring to subvert the 2020 election results in the state.

“If they can do this to me, they can do this to you,” Mr Giuliani said outside of the Fulton County Jail on Wednesday, calling the case a “fight for our way of life” and a “travesty.”

He went on to criticise Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis.

“Fani Willis will go down in American history, as having conducted one of the worst attacks on the American Constitution,” he said. “She has violated people’s First Amendment right to advocate the government to petition the government for grievances like an election they believe was poorly conducted or falsely conducted. People have a right to believe that in America.”

The former New York mayor is charged with making false statements and soliciting false testimony, as well as conspiring to create false documents and attempt to make state lawmakers violate their oath of office.

Mr Giuliani, who served as Donald Trump’s personal lawyer, denies wrongdoing and later left the jail after being ordered to pay a $150,000 bond.

The moment was a striking new chapter in the story of a US official once known for being a leading member of law enforcement who pioneerd hard-hitting prosecutions of organised crime

As the US attorney for the Southern District of New York, Mr Giuliani gained fame and public recognition for his frequent used of the 1970 Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act (RICO), which he used to convict organised crime figures like “Fat Tony” Salerno, Carmine “Junior” Persico, and Paul Castellano.

In 2008, Mr Giuliani, by that point dubbed “America’s Mayor” for rallying the country following the 9/11 terrorist attacks, ran for president unsuccessfully.

Now, Mr Giuliani, who became a public surrogate of Donald Trump and defender of his many false statements about the 2020 election, is being prosecuted under Georgia’s RICO statute.

The former New York mayor’s arrest is a prelude to an even more sensational moment, with Donald Trump expected to turn himself in on Thursday.