Manhattan Judge Juan Merchan ordered Trump to pay a $1,000 fine for violating the gag order by Friday.
Topline
Manhattan Judge Juan Merchan held former President Donald Trump in contempt of court for a tenth time Monday for violating a gag order in his hush money case, and warned he would consider a jail sentence if Trump continues to attack witnesses, jurors and others associated with the case.Key Facts
Prosecutors asked Merchan to hold Trump in contempt for a series of disparaging statements he made about a prospective witness, his former lawyer Michael Cohen, and what Trump claimed was a “mostly all democrat” jury.
The judge held Trump in contempt for his jury-related comments on April 22, determining they “not only called into question the integrity, and therefore the legitimacy of the proceedings, but again raised the specter of fear for the safety of the jurors and of their loved ones,” Merchan said, according to the Associated Press.
Merchan ordered Trump to pay the $1,000 fine for violating the gag order by Friday, warning “the last thing I want to do is put you in jail,” he said, according to multiple outlets.
Last week, Merchan fined Trump $9,000 on nine violations of his gag order for a series of posts on his social media platform Truth Social, and while he opted not to impose jail time, he threatened that jail could be a possibility for further violations, arguing the maximum $1,000 fine per violation “will not achieve the desired result” of preventing more violations.
