Former President Donald Trump’s vitriolic rants against the Manhattan district attorney’s office have already prompted warnings that his online posts could be seen as an incitement to violence.
But they could also put Trump in serious legal hot water—and potentially even jail.
That’s because Trump’s ravings—if he keeps them up after he’s been criminally charged—will likely to prompt a judge to slap down a gag order, which would restrict Trump and potentially others close to him from speaking out about the case, according to former prosecutors and legal experts who spoke with VICE News.
“There is no question that the court should impose a very strict gag order, not only on the former president but anyone who he might solicit to talk on his behalf,” said Robert C. Gottlieb, a former assistant district attorney in the Manhattan DA’s office. “This isn’t a game. He has made it clear that he is willing to destroy the foundation of fair and equal justice for all in order to save his own skin.”
Over the last week, Trump has ramped up racist attacks on Manhattan DA Alvin Bragg, the prosecutor now weighing whether to indict Trump over his involvement in a $130,000 hush money payment to adult film star Stormy Daniels.
Trump has called Bragg, the first Black man ever elected Manhattan DA, an “animal” and a “racist,” while urging MAGA followers to “protest!” Trump warned that “potential death & destruction” could occur if he’s indicted, and called Bragg a “degenerate psychopath.” A group of about 175 former federal prosecutors slammed Trump in an open letter on Sunday, warning that his statements “can be construed as inciting violence.”
Bragg’s office recently received a threatening letter containing white powder and the words: “”ALVIN: I AM GOING TO KILL YOU!!!!!!!!!!!!!”
