Amid Escalating Threats, Manhattan DA Urges Judge To Expand Gag Order

As we’ve seen by now, former President Donald Trump has been issued gag order after gag order. But he’s ignored all of them as if somehow they apply to someone else other than him. He’s gotten away with them because no one wants to poke the bear.

It’s time to poke the bear, folks. Perhaps Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg understands this because right now he’s urgently calling for an extension of the gag order against the ex-president in his New York criminal case. Bragg asserts that Trump’s increasingly violent and threatening words pose a risk to the integrity of the proceedings as they continue, MeidasTouchNetwork reports. Bragg also insists that Trump’s violent rhetoric is meant to intimidate witnesses, trial participants, and even the court.

In the filing, Bragg notes “Defendant’s dangerous, violent, and reprehensible rhetoric fundamentally threatens the integrity of these proceedings and is intended to intimidate witnesses and trial participants alike— including this Court.”

I have to wonder how long it will take before any higher-ups remember Trump’s words have consequences. Do we need another January 6 to remind us?

Bragg’s memorandum stresses that it’s crucial to expand the existing gag order to “explicitly protect family members of the Court, the District Attorney, and other individuals mentioned in the order. He urges the court to warn Trump against further attacks on family members and hit him with sanctions if he violates the order.

Bragg warns Judge Juan Merchan that Trump’s behavior has continued to worsen no matter how many times he has been warned and no matter how many restrictions have been placed on his extrajudicial statements. Even though his attorneys have said he would self-regulate, Trump has kept up his disruptive and threatening speech, even going as far as to post images targeting individuals connected to the case. In recent days, Trump has leveled several attacks on Judge Merchan’s daughter.

Bragg points out several instances of Trump’s inflammatory statements, including threats of “death and destruction,” occasions where he’s posted photos depicting violence against individuals involved in the case. Bragg maintains that this behavior undermines the administration of justice and is also a serious threat to public safety. He wants the court to get cracking.

Trump continually claims he has constitutional protection for his actions, but Bragg asserts there is no justification for him to keep targeting family members of the court. Bragg reminded the court that such attacks don’t serve a legitimate purpose other than to obstruct the trial proceedings and frighten those who are involved.

Bragg summed things up by urging the court to take immediate action to clarify and extend the gag order. He emphasized the need to protect the trial’s integrity and ensure its participants are kept safe. He also requests that the court explicitly warn the former president that if he keeps harassing or being disruptive this may result in the forfeiture of certain rights, including access to juror names.

Oh please. This is a tiny slap on the wrist. Would any of us be able to get away with this? Of course not. It’s time to keep him off the internet, period. That would lessen the threats. I know that’s a violation of his free speech but the man is plain dangerous and I believe this is warranted. Trump always has the ear of the media, but this is the only way he’d be able to vent his nastiness. We’ve all seen what happens when people listen to Trump and how dangerous this can be. There are a few dead people who would like to have a word.

At any rate, the court is expected to review the filing and issue a ruling on the requested gag order extension in the upcoming days.