WASHINGTON – It was evening in America. At 7.35pm on Thursday, the front-running Republican candidate in the 2024 presidential election race walked into the Fulton County Jail in Atlanta, the capital of Georgia.

He was arrested on charges that he led a scheme to overturn the 2020 election results in the state.

The 45th president became inmate number P01135809.

It was Donald Trump’s fourth arrest in 2023 and the prelude to a courtroom drama in 2024 that will keep the country hooked and divided in equal measure.

The 77-year-old was fingerprinted and photographed in a police procedural mugshot, frowning angrily into the camera, brows beetled and lips pursed grimly.

His height and weight became a matter of public record (6 feet 3 inches or 1.9m, 97.5kg), racking up thousands of views on social media.

It was the first time that a former US president had his mugshot taken; it was not part of his three earlier arrests.

Some 20 minutes later, Trump walked out of jail, having posted bail of US$200,000 (S$271,300) in advance.

TV cameras followed his motorcade until he was back in his Boeing 757, with his name blazoned across the private jet in giant letters.

As the motorcade passed, people stopped and stared, local media reported. Many whipped out their phones to record the surreal moment. Some cursed out loud.

On social media, conservatives lent support, pledging that they stood with Trump. Others voiced their outrage.

“Those who decided to start using indictments, prosecutors and even mugshots as weapons in a political campaign have unleashed a destructive new era in American politics,” Florida Republican Senator Marco Rubio tweeted.

“Now, for years to come our criminal justice system will be used to target candidates in both parties, and the harm this will do to America will take a long time to fix.”

Trump told an interviewer: “It is not a comfortable feeling – especially when you’ve done nothing wrong,”

The first former US president to face criminal charges, Trump has been indicted in four cases.

The three earlier ones relate to his personal business dealings, his handling of classified documents and efforts to stop the congressional certification of President Joe Biden’s 2020 victory.

Still, Trump leads the Republican field in the 2024 presidential nomination race.

He has denied wrongdoing in each case.

His congressional allies seized on the Atlanta mugshot.

“This is the photo that will win the 2024 presidential election,” Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene, a Republican from Georgia, posted on X, formerly called Twitter.

While the Republicans swiftly began to raise funds using the mugshot, President Biden also chimed in.

“Apropos of nothing, I think today’s a great day to give to my campaign,” he posted on X.

Trump’s mugshot could be used by either party; by the Democrats to remind voters that they would be electing a man facing dozens of felony charges if they vote for him.

But on Thursday, the Democrats were by and large quiet. Party strategists apparently did not want to fuel allegations that the case was politically motivated, or to make a martyr of the former president.

“I think we all have to be very careful. There is a high risk of Donald Trump becoming a victim,” one House Democrat, speaking on condition of anonymity, told Axios.

An arraignment, where Trump would be brought to court to hear the charges and enter a plea, could be set for early September.

But he can apply to have this process waived so that he does not have to return to court.

The trial could begin on Oct 23.

Trump’s 18 co-defendants, including his former lawyer Rudy Giuliani, have also been arrested and released on bail over the past few days.

“What has taken place here is a travesty of justice,” Trump told reporters in a brief statement after his trip to the jail.

“There’s never been anything like it in our country before.

“We did nothing wrong at all and we have every right to challenge an election that we think is dishonest,” he said, reiterating his unproven claim that the 2020 election was rigged against him.

Thus far, his legal troubles have not hurt him politically.

The first Republican debate on Wednesday demonstrated that Trump’s shadow looms large over the Republican party.

When prompted by a moderator, six of the eight other Republican candidates said they would support Trump if he headed the ticket – despite a criminal conviction.

However, a conviction would be the lowest point for the Republicans, whose iconic President Ronald Reagan swept the nation with his campaign line in 1984: It is morning in America.