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Former President Donald Trump has been fined $9,000 and warned that he could be jailed if he continues to violate a gag order imposed by a judge overseeing his ongoing criminal trial.
Judge Juan Merchan issued the fine during Trump’s ongoing criminal hush money trial and noted the seriousness of adhering to court mandates. Merchan expressed concern that even this amount wouldn’t deter Trump, given his wealth. He added that Trump is “warned that the Court will not tolerate willful violations of its lawful orders and that if necessary and appropriate under the circumstances, it will impose an incarceratory punishment.”
The fine resulted from Trump’s online activity, where he posted statements that the court deemed violating the gag order, which prohibits any criticism of trial participants and witnesses. Specifically, Trump was fined $1,000 for each of the nine statements identified by prosecutors. These posts included derogatory remarks about Michael Cohen, Trump’s former lawyer, and other comments that could potentially influence the jury’s impartiality. Justice Merchan has ordered these posts to be removed from Trump’s Truth Social platform and his campaign website.
In response to the penalties, Trump has claimed that his free speech rights are being infringed upon, labeling the trial as “rigged” and asserting that he is being unfairly silenced. Trump’s lawyer, Todd Blanche, defended the posts as reactions to political attacks; however, he failed to provide evidence that the targeted witnesses had initiated any such attacks.
This comes as Trump, who is currently running in the 2024 presidential election, has pleaded not guilty to charges of falsifying business records related to a payment intended to silence porn star Stormy Daniels about an alleged past sexual encounter. This legal battle is just one of multiple lawsuits facing Trump.
