Trump Threatened With Jail Time For 10th Gag Order Violation

Judge Juan Merchan, who oversees former President Donald Trump‘s hush-money case, found him guilty of violating his gag order for the 10th time. On Monday, Mechan ordered Trump to pay a fine of $1,000 for verbally attacking the jury in his criminal trial.

Trump’s gag order prohibits the former president from insulting witnesses, jurors, prosecutors, court staff or the judge’s family. However, the order does not bar Trump from attacking Merchan or Manhattan D.A. Alvin Bragg. Trump has pushed back on the gag order, citing a violation of his First Amendment rights. 

For each of the ten violations, Trump must pay $1,000, for a total of $10,000. Prosecutors stated they delayed giving Trump jail time to “minimize disruptions” to the trial. 

“Your continued violations constitute a direct attack on the rule of law,” Merchan stated. 

Trump violated his gag order through public posts to his Truth Social account and during an interview on Real America’s Voice, a conservative channel. Trump claimed his jury selection was “unfair” due to Manhattan being a Democratic area.

“That jury was picked so fast—95% Democrats. The area’s mostly all Democrat. You think of it as a—just purely Democrat area. It’s a very unfair situation, that I can tell you.”

Prosecutor Chris Conroy responded to Trump’s claims. “He was on the media, and he used his platform there to criticize the seated jury in this case. There’s no inference needed . . . By talking about the jury at all, he places . . . the process in jeopardy.”

However, Trump was able to snag a partial win as Merchan ruled that some violations could not be proven beyond a reasonable doubt. Week three of Trump’s trials concluded last Friday with former White House press secretary Hope Hicks delivering an emotional testimony.