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Rick Perry to turn himself in Tuesday afternoon

Rick Perry is set to surrender at Travis County Court at 5 p.m. on Tuesday afternoon to answer for felony corruption charges.

By Gabrielle Levy
Texas Governor Rick Perry. UPI/Molly Riley
Texas Governor Rick Perry. UPI/Molly Riley | License Photo

WASHINGTON, Aug. 19 (UPI) -- Texas Gov. Rick Perry is set to turn himself over to authorities Tuesday to be booked on felony charges of coercion and abuse of official capacity.

Perry will reportedly surrender to authorities in Travis County around 5 p.m. CDT to be fingerprinted and have his mugshot taken.

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Houston trial lawyer Tony Buzbee, who will lead Perry's defense, has said the governor has no plans to sneak into Travis County Court to avoid publicity.

"That's going to be something, that when he goes in to be booked and take his picture that we're going to let you know about," he said. "This is a complete waste of time and money."

Republican Bert Richardson, the judge overseeing the case, decided not to arrest Perry and instead issued a summons for him to surrender voluntarily.

The Texas Republican became the first governor in the state to be indicted since 1917, he is accused of misusing his authority by vetoing the funding of the Travis County Public Integrity Unity after its district attorney was arrested and pleaded guilty to drunken driving.

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Perry has adamantly denied wrongdoing, calling the charges "a farce" and vowing to stay in office while fighting them in court.

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