Judge Juan Merchan said on Monday he will consider a jail sentence for former President Trump if he continues to violate the gag order imposed upon him in his unprecedented criminal trial.
Merchan imposed a gag order on Trump before the trial began, ordering that Trump cannot make or direct others to make public statements about witnesses with regard to their potential participation or about counsel in the case – other than Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg – or about court staff, DA staff or family members of staff.
NY VS TRUMP: THE EVIDENCE PROSECUTORS CAN PRESENT IF FORMER PRESIDENT TESTIFIES
Former President Trump, left, attends the first day of his trial at Manhattan Criminal Court in New York City on April 15, 2024. Judge Juan Merchan poses for a picture in his chambers on Thursday, March 14, 2024, in New York. (Angela Weiss/AFP via AP, POOL/AP)
Bragg and prosecutors have alleged more than a dozen violations of the gag order and have already fined the former president $9,000 for those violations.
Merchan, on Monday, fined the former president $1,000 for an additional violation, but said it is “clear” that the fine — $1,000 per violation — is not effective.
The filing states that Trump is “hereby put on notice that if appropriate and warranted, future violations of its lawful orders will be punishable by incarceration.”
Prosecutor Matthew Colangelo, right, makes opening statements as former President Trump watches with his attorney Todd Blanche before Justice Juan Merchan during Trump’s…
