After being detained in Georgia on Wednesday, Jenna Ellis, the former attorney for former president Donald Trump, grinned at her mugshot.
Ellis’s portrait stood out visibly from other mugshots of Trump’s accused accomplices in Fulton County, where the majority of the defendants were seen without any visibly animated emotions.
As of Wednesday, Ellis was the only one of the 18 Trump co-defendants who had been photographed and booked at the Fulton County Jail. David Shafer, a former Georgia GOP lawmaker, was the only one to smile openly with Ellis.
Ellis, who has been charged with felony racketeering as well as solicitation of oath breach by a public officer, uploaded the mugshot shortly after it was made public by the authorities in a post to her account on X, formerly Twitter.
Ellis, who identified himself as a “servant of Jesus Christ,” posted two verses from the Bible beside the image: Matthew 5:44, which instructs Christians to “love your enemies” as well as “pray for those who persecute you,” and Psalm 32:10–11, which exhorts the faithful to “rejoice.”
“But I say unto you, love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them that despitefully use you and persecute you…” Matt 5:44
— Jenna Ellis (@JennaEllisEsq) August 23, 2023
“But he who trusts in the Lord, lovingkindness shall surround him.
Be glad in the Lord and rejoice, you… pic.twitter.com/lGcxDN0skI
Ellis’ mugshot was made public by Fulton County officials along with those of other Trump attorneys Rudy Giuliani and Sidney Powell who were also part of the unsuccessful attempt to invalidate President Joe Biden’s election in 2020.
Ellis publicly questioned why Trump and a pro-Trump super PAC would not cover the cost of her legal defense fund, and as of Wednesday, she had raised more than $120,000 through crowdfunding.
Trump, the front-runner for the Republican nomination for president in 2024, is rumored to have lost respect for Ellis when she supported Ron DeSantis, a rival GOP contender.
In response to worries that some people would “flip” on Trump as a result of his unwillingness to cover his co-defendants’ legal expenses, the former president declared on Wednesday that he would be organizing a $100,000 per person fundraiser for Giuliani.
In reaction, Ellis told Newsweek, “I am glad to see Trump ready to help raise money for someone other than himself.” He should assist all of his attorneys who served him when he requested them. I want to express my gratitude to everyone in the nation who is standing with me in my fight against the criminalization of the practice of law.
Trump is anticipated to turn himself in in Fulton County on Thursday, at which point he will likely be taken into custody and forced to pose for his first booking photo in four felony arraignments this year.
The former president is charged with 91 felonies overall throughout all of his federal and state indictments, including 13 felonies in Georgia. Trump insists that there has been no crime and says he is the target of a political “witch hunt” and “election interference.”
Last week, Ty Cobb, a former Trump White House attorney, predicted that the former president would be “raising money off” his Georgia picture “before he leaves the jail.”
The Trump campaign issued supporters fundraising emails with a false mugshot of the former president after New York police decided not to pursue the former president’s mugshot during his first court appearance this year.