Judge fines Trump again in criminal trial, warns of jail time

Justice Juan Merchan said the nine US$1,000 fines he had imposed so far did not seem to be deterring Trump from violating the gag order

The judge overseeing Donald Trump's criminal trial said on Monday (May 6) he would hold the former president in contempt of court for a 10th time for violating a gag order, and warned he would consider jailing him for any further violations.

Justice Juan Merchan said the nine US$1,000 fines he had imposed so far did not seem to be deterring Trump from violating the gag order, which prohibits him from making public comments about jurors, witnesses and families of the judge and prosecutors if the statements mean to interfere with the case.

Merchan said he considered jail time “truly the last resort” for many reasons, including the disruption to the trial, political implications of jailing a leading presidential candidate ahead of an election and the extraordinary security challenges of incarcerating an ex-president with a lifetime Secret Service detail.