ATLANTA — Former President Donald Trump pleaded not guilty on Thursday and sought to sever his case from some other defendants who are accused along with him of illegally trying to overturn the results of the 2020 election in Georgia.

Fulton County Superior Court Judge Scott McAfee had set arraignment hearings on Sept. 6 for Trump and the 18 others charged in the case. Trump's court filing entering a not guilty plea also waived arraignment, meaning he won't have to show up for that.

The decision to skip an in-person appearance averts the dramatic arraignments that have accompanied the three other criminal cases Trump faces, in which the Republican former president has been forced amid tight security into a courtroom and entered ''not guilty'' pleas before crowds of spectators. Georgia courts have fairly permissive rules on news cameras in the courtroom, and this means Trump won't have to enter a plea on television.

https://www.startribune.com/trump-pleads-not-guilty-in-georgia-election-subversion-case-seeks-to-sever-his-case-from-others/600301135/