JUST IN: Trump Found In Contempt Of Court, Judge Threatens Trump With Jail

The judge overseeing Trump’s ‘Hush Money’ trial held Trump in contempt of court on Tuesday.

Judge Juan Merchan held Trump in contempt of court on Tuesday for violating his gag order that prohibits him from speaking about those involved in his case.

Merchan claimed Trump violated the gag order a total of nine times by posting on Truth Social about Michael Cohen, Stormy Daniels, and others involved in the case.

Merhcan fined Trump $9,000, which is $1,000 for each violation.

The New York Judge then threatened Trump with jail and stated the court “must therefore consider whether, in some instances, jail may be a necessary punishment.”

🚨BREAKING: Judge Juan Merchan ruled Trump in contempt for nine violations of his gag order, with a fine of $1,000 for each instance.

Also, he threatens Trump with jail for further gag order violations. pic.twitter.com/WNZ3BkmQyQ

— I Meme Therefore I Am 🇺🇸 (@ImMeme0) April 30, 2024

BREAKING: Trump found in contempt of court for 9 gag order violations, threatened with incarceration by judgehttps://t.co/cr3w5XjuQxhttps://t.co/cr3w5XjuQx

— Jack Poso 🇺🇸 (@JackPosobiec) April 30, 2024

Here’s what CBS reported:

The judge overseeing former President Donald Trump’s criminal trial in New York held him in contempt of court on Tuesday for violating a gag order that limits what he can say about those involved in the case, and warned him that he could be jailed if he violates the order again.

Judge Juan Merchan said Trump violated the order nine times in recent weeks in posts on Trump’s Truth Social platform and campaign website, many of which targeted Michael Cohen and Stormy Daniels, key witnesses in the case. Merchan fined Trump $9,000, or $1,000 for each violation, and ordered him to delete the posts.

The judge announced the ruling from the bench and issued an accompanying written order. He wrote that Trump “violated the Order by making social media posts about known witnesses pertaining to their participation in this criminal proceeding and by making public statements about jurors in this criminal proceeding.”

Merchan wrote that New York law doesn’t allow him to impose a fine higher than $1,000 per violation, which “unfortunately will not achieve the desired result in those instances where the [defendant] can easily afford such a fine.” He said a higher fine might be appropriate in those cases, but since he does not have that discretion, the court “must therefore consider whether in some instances, jail may be a necessary punishment.”

🚨🚨🚨MAJOR BREAKING: Donald Trump has been held in criminal contempt for violating his gag order NINE times.

Merchan laments that he is bound to only fine Trump $1000 for each incident ($9000) and says jail may be the only way to stop Trump from violating.

He adds this… pic.twitter.com/LOsVrIZKTD

— CALL TO ACTIVISM (@CalltoActivism) April 30, 2024

Per NBC News:

The judge presiding over Donald Trump’s hush money case on Tuesday held the former president in criminal contempt over a series of posts on Truth Social that he said violated a gag order barring any attacks on jurors and witnesses and warned Trump he could be jailed for further violations.

Judge Juan Merchan ruled Trump in contempt for nine violations of his gag order, with a fine of $1,000 for each instance. He warned in the decision that he would not tolerate further violations of the order and said “if necessary and appropriate under the circumstances,” he would impose “an incarceratory punishment” on the former president.

The judge explained that because the fines, which are limited by state law, were relatively little in comparison to Trump’s wealth, they might be unlikely to deter the former president from abiding by the court’s order. Merchan said that while he would prefer to impose commensurately larger fines, he instead had to consider “whether in some instances, jail may be a necessary punishment.”