New York, NY – Former president Donald Trump has declared that he would consider it a “great honor” to be jailed for violating a gag order in a case about to go to trial. This statement marks an escalation in his attacks against New York Supreme Court Justice Juan Merchan and other court officials. Merchan recently expanded his gag order to include both his own family and the family of Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg, following Trump’s personal attacks on Merchan’s daughter.
In a post on the Truth Social platform, Trump directly challenged Merchan to throw him in jail, likening himself to Nelson Mandela, the first president of post-apartheid South Africa who was also a political prisoner. Trump wrote, “If this Partisan Hack wants to put me in the ‘clink’ for speaking the open and obvious TRUTH, I will gladly become a Modern Day Nelson Mandela.” He further argued that the country needs to be saved from “Political Operatives masquerading as Prosecutors and Judges.”
Despite the gag order, Trump has persistently shared links on Truth Social that echo his criticisms. In a recent post, he called for Merchan to be recused and the case to be thrown out, claiming that the judge is one of the most conflicted he has ever encountered. Trump has a history of directly attacking judges and their families, with a recent analysis showing he has done so over 130 times on social media.
It remains to be seen whether Merchan will take any action against Trump for his latest postings. The judge has the power to fine or imprison Trump for violating the gag order. Another consequence could be withholding the names of jurors from Trump’s lawyers.
Gag orders restricting the public statements of criminal defendants are a common occurrence in judicial proceedings. Trump has previously been fined for violating a judge’s gag order in a civil business-fraud lawsuit, resulting in a hefty penalty. Trump’s campaign has decried Merchan’s gag order as “unconstitutional and un-American” and vowed that Trump will continue to speak truth to power.
The trial overseen by Merchan involves charges against Trump related to alleged faked business records in connection with hush money payments to adult-film actress Stormy Daniels during the 2016 election. Trump is facing a total of 88 charges across four criminal cases, including federal and state charges, all of them felonies. He has consistently denied any wrongdoing in each case.
This is not the first time Trump has compared himself to Nelson Mandela as a way to portray himself as a victim of political persecution. In October 2023, he told supporters, “I don’t mind being Nelson Mandela because I’m doing it for a reason.” The Biden campaign has swiftly criticized Trump’s comparison, with their director of Black media stating that Trump’s self-centeredness knows no bounds.
As the trial date approaches, it remains to be seen how the legal proceedings will unfold and whether Trump’s defiance of the gag order will have any consequences.