November 30, 2003 – Shocking photos of Michael
0:38 a.m. - Just minutes earlier, television networks around the world aired shocking images of Michael Jackson, handcuffed, as he arrived at the California airport. Immediately after his private jet landed at an airport near Santa Barbara, he was handed over to police. Sheriff Jim Anderson, speaking to reporters outside the Santa Barbara police station, said, "Michael Jackson was sent to custody at 12:05 p.m. (23:35 Tehran time) at the Santa Barbara airport. We are now transferring him to the central regional jail so that the paperwork and his arrest procedures can be carried out. We expect him to pay the set bail at that time and also to turn in his passport." The paperwork to be carried out regarding Jackson—which includes humiliating acts such as taking his fingerprints and photographing his face for inclusion in the file—will, according to him, take about an hour. His lawyer, Mark Geragos, said his bail is $3 million, with $300,000 to be paid immediately. The plane carrying Michael stopped inside a garage, making it impossible to see who got out. Moments later, a convoy of four cars left the garage, led by a police patrol car and a motorcycle officer. Police and their companions said that Michael’s lawyer described the arrest of Michael by officials as the most regrettable accusation of his life—made against one of the biggest celebrities in the world.
Geragos, speaking to a large number of reporters who had not been left any space in the jail complex and the sheriff’s building, said that Jackson considers the serious allegations made against him a "big lie" and denies them. He added, "Michael is here. He has simply returned to stand up in the face of the source of these allegations. He is extremely angry at the appearance of these outrageous allegations. Michael has given me permission to announce on his behalf that the rumors are categorically not true." He also said his client is awaiting facing the allegations in court. A huge media circus had gathered at the location where Michael entered. It is sad how an international star is treated.
Jermaine, Michael’s brother, defended his brother in an interview with CNN, angrily. He said, "The entire Michael family supports him—one hundred percent, one thousand percent. Michael is innocent. My brother is not abnormal. We spent an extraordinary and wonderful childhood together. With this, they are dragging him down with what he loves... and in the end, all it does is defame him in the way of the new era."
