Former President Donald Trump pleaded not guilty on Thursday and waived arraignment in the case accusing him and others of illegally trying to overturn the results of the 2020 election in Georgia.

That means he won’t have to show up for an arraignment hearing that Fulton County Superior Court Judge Scott McAfee had set for next week. 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 former president has been forced amid tight security into a courtroom and entered “not guilty” pleas before crowds of spectators.

[That seems surprising. Trump used those earlier arraignments to schedule rallies and/or media appearances to leverage the earned-media attention into campaigning. Perhaps he has another event already scheduled at the same time next week. — Ed]