Donald Trump's Mug Shot Would Be Blocked Under New Bill

A Georgia Democrat has introduced a bill that would prevent law enforcement agencies from publicly releasing mug shots until after a person has been convicted, which would have prevented the release of Donald Trump's mug shot last year.

State Representative Roger Bruce introduced House Bill 882 earlier in January, which would "prohibit the release or posting of a booking photograph unless and until the individual depicted therein is convicted."

Bruce represents parts of Fulton County, where the former president and others are charged with illegally attempting to overturn his 2020 election loss in Georgia. Trump, the frontrunner for the 2024 Republican presidential nomination, has pleaded not guilty to the charges.

Trump avoided having his mug shot taken in three other criminal prosecutions he is facing but took one when he was booked at the Fulton County Jail on August 24. That photo, showing Trump glaring at the camera, was released later that day.

If the proposed law had been in effect at the time, Trump's mug shot would not have been released.

While booking photographs have long been considered public records in Georgia, Bruce said it was unfair to those later acquitted of the charges against them.

"Just because you've been arrested does not mean you've committed a crime. You've been accused of a crime," he told Atlanta's 11Alive News. "If you've been exonerated, you should not have your mug shot out on the internet."

Newsweek reached out to Bruce and a Trump spokesperson for comment via email.

Others say the bill would affect the transparency of law enforcement agencies.

The bill is "well-intentioned but misguided," Richard T. Griffiths, president emeritus of the Georgia First Amendment Foundation, told Newsweek.

"A transparent arrest process actually protects the offender, and that process is public for a reason," he said. "It's important for democracy to know it is treating people fairly, and at a time where opaque operations of police are under scrutiny in many jurisdictions, this would be a step backward."

Releasing mug shots also avoids confusion about who has been arrested when people have the same or similar names, he said.

Griffiths also said that another issue with the bill as it is currently written is that it would prevent law enforcement agencies from circulating the booking photographs of defendants wanted by police.

It "would effectively prevent law enforcement from publishing mugshots of adjudicated defendants who are wanted for other crimes," he said. "So somebody is arrested, booked, bails out, and then is wanted for a more serious crime. Law enforcement wouldn't be allowed to post that and say, 'Hey, we're looking for this guy.'"