Former President Donald Trump pleaded not guilty

on

On Thursday, he waived arraignment in the case that charged him and others with illegal attempts to overturn the results of Georgia’s 2020 election.

That means he doesn’t have to appear for a hearing that Fulton County Superior Court Judge Scott McAfee had scheduled for next week.

The decision to skip a personal appearance avoids the dramatic charges that have accompanied the three other criminal cases Trump faces, in which the former president has been forced into a courtroom under tight security and made innocent pleas in front of large numbers of onlookers .

Trump and 18 others were charged earlier this month in a 41-count indictment outlining an alleged scheme to undermine the will of Georgian voters who had chosen Democrat Joe Biden over the Republican incumbent in the presidential election.

Several other people charged in the indictment had already waived arraignment in their court records, saving them a trip to the courthouse in downtown Atlanta. Trump previously traveled to Georgia on Aug. 24 to turn himself in to Fulton County Jail, becoming the first former president to have a police photo taken.