Judge warns Trump of gag order if he incites violence, orders him to return on Dec. 4

Donald Trump and his team are not prohibited from speaking publicly about his case, but Judge Juan Merchan warned Tuesday during arraignment that he could issue a gag order against the ex-president if he posts messages on social media that incite violence.

A gag order would prevent Trump and his legal team from discussing the case publicly, which would extend to the defendant’s preferred form of communication with his base: social media.

After Trump turned himself in for arrest in Manhattan on Tuesday morning, Judge Merchan said during the arraignment that he would have to return to his former hometown for the next in-person hearing on Dec. 4.

The next court date is eight months after the arraignment and about two months before the official start of the 2024 Republican presidential primary calendar.

Trump pleaded not guilty to all 34 counts.

Judge Juan Merchan (pictured) could issue a gag order preventing Trump, his team, and the opposing attorney from discussing the case publicly — that hasn’t happened yet. It comes after Trump complained that Merchan is part of a ‘family of known Trump haters’

After leaving the arraignment on Tuesday, Trump will leave New York and head back to his Mar-a-Lago estate, where he will make remarks at 8:15 p.m. in Palm Beach, Florida

In the weeks leading up to the indictment and the days following, Trump took to his Truth Social platform to post a myriad of posts railing against Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg, Judge Merchan and the grand jury.

The ex-president also warned of “death and destruction” if he was charged in the Stormy Daniels hush money payment case and posted an image of him holding a baseball bat next to a photo of Bragg’s head.

“He wasn’t waving a baseball bat at anyone’s head,” Trump attorney Joseph Tacopina said Tuesday outside the courthouse. “That was a picture of him showing off an American-made bat.”

Judge Merchan warned Trump, his legal counsel and the opposing attorney during the indictment on Tuesday not to post social media posts that could incite violence.

This followed a five-message tirade Tuesday morning before Trump appeared in Manhattan Criminal Court for processing.

A Truth Social post specifically claimed that Merchan is a “very partisan judge and his family are known Trump haters.”

A social media post from Trump before he was indicted included an image of an article of him holding a baseball bat next to an image of Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg

Trump also posted a pre-indictment message warning that if indicted there would be “death and destruction”

Merchan’s daughter Loren, 34, is president and partner of progressive digital form Authentic Campaigns, which works with a range of Democratic clients and campaigns. She was the digital director for Vice President Kamala Harris’ 2020 presidential campaign.

The Manhattan district attorney’s office accused Trump of posting messages on social media “threatening our city, our justice system, our courts and our office.”

In a court post on Tuesday, the former president called the whole ordeal a “kangaroo court.”

At the arraignment, Trump’s attorney Todd Blanche said Trump’s posts were merely in response to prosecution witnesses speaking publicly about the case — likely referring to Trump’s former “fixer” and attorney Michael Cohen, who organized the plea deal. and made the payment to Daniels in 2016.

Blanche also said the messages were a form of protest against the “grave injustice” Trump says Trump faces by being indicted.

Manhattan judge Juan Manuel Merchan and his daughter, Loren Merchan, 34, who works for progressive digital strategies firm Authentic Campaigns and served as the digital director for Vice President Kamala Harris’ 2020 presidential campaign