Manhattan court Judge Juan Merchan on Monday said he will consider a jail sentence for former President Donald Trump if he continues to violate the gag order imposed upon him.
This is even as the judge fined the former President $1,000 for an additional violation, but said it is “clear” that the fine is not effective.
According to reports, Trump is currently undergoing trial in Manhattan, where he is facing 34 felony counts of falsifying business records.
Fox News reports that Merchan had imposed a gag order on Trump before the trial began, ordering that he cannot make or direct others to make public statements about witnesses with regard to their potential participation or about counsel in the case.
Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg and prosecutors have alleged more than a dozen gag order violations by the former President.
However, Merchan said on Monday that going forward, the court will have to consider “a jail sentence”.
“The last thing I want to consider is jail,” Merchan said. “You are former President and possibly the next President.
“The magnitude of that decision is not lost on me. Your continued willful violation of the court’s order constitutes a direct attack and will not be allowed to continue. It is not allowed to continue.”
Trump and his defense attorneys have argued that the former President and presumptive Republican presidential nominee should not be bound by the gag order, saying it violates his First Amendment rights as well as the First Amendment rights of his supporters.