{"slug":"gag-order-violations-criminal-contempt-2023-2024","title":"Trump Fined for Attacking Court Staff and Held in Criminal Contempt Ten Times for Gag-Order Violations (2023–2024)","date":"2023-10-03","lastUpdated":"2026-10-04","description":"In October 2023 Donald Trump posted an attack on Justice Arthur Engoron's principal law clerk during his New York civil fraud trial; Engoron imposed a gag order protecting court staff and fined Trump $5,000 and then $10,000 for violating it, warning of possible imprisonment. Engoron later wrote that his chambers had been \"inundated with hundreds of harassing and threating phone calls, voicemails, emails, letters, and packages.\" In the Manhattan criminal case, Justice Juan Merchan issued a gag order in March 2024, expanded it after Trump attacked the judge's daughter, and on 30 April 2024 held Trump in criminal contempt on nine separate occasions, fining him $1,000 each and warning that he would impose \"an incarceratory punishment\" if necessary. A tenth violation followed.","summary":"Two New York judges found that Trump repeatedly violated orders protecting court staff, witnesses and jurors from his public attacks. He was fined in the civil fraud trial and held in criminal contempt ten times in the hush-money trial.","category":"rule-of-law","severity":"major","ongoing":false,"sources":[{"url":"https://web.archive.org/web/20250104022543/https://www.nycourts.gov/LegacyPDFS/press/PDFs/D.O.motion4contempt-FINAL.pdf","title":"People v. Trump, Decision and Order on People's Motion for Contempt (Merchan, J., 30 April 2024)","publisher":"New York Supreme Court, New York County (via Internet Archive)"},{"url":"https://www.cbsnews.com/news/trump-gag-order-new-york-hush-money-case/","title":"Judge imposes gag order on Trump in New York hush-money case","publisher":"CBS News"},{"url":"https://www.cbsnews.com/news/trump-gag-order-new-york-trial-hush-money/","title":"Trump asks to have gag order lifted in New York criminal trial","publisher":"CBS News"},{"url":"https://www.cnbc.com/2023/10/26/trump-fraud-trial-ex-president-rails-against-judge-who-fined-him-15000.html","title":"Trump rails against judge who fined him $15,000 in NY fraud trial","publisher":"CNBC"},{"url":"https://www.cnbc.com/2023/11/03/judge-in-trump-ny-fraud-trial-extends-gag-order-to-lawyers-says-office-has-received-hundreds-of-threats-since-trial-started.html","title":"Judge in Trump NY fraud trial extends gag order to lawyers, says office has received 'hundreds' of threats since trial started","publisher":"CNBC"},{"url":"https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2023/nov/30/court-reinstates-trump-gag-order-fraud-trial","title":"Trump attacks wife of New York judge after gag order reinstated by court","publisher":"The Guardian"}],"draft":false,"status":"published","tags":["gag order","contempt of court","Juan Merchan","Arthur Engoron","court staff","witness intimidation","jurors"],"relatedEntries":["trump-hush-money-cohen-stormy-daniels-conviction","trump-new-york-civil-fraud-judgment-454-million","attacks-on-judiciary"],"timeline":[{"date":"2023-10-03","title":"Engoron gag order after attack on law clerk","summary":"Trump shares a post attacking the judge's principal law clerk; Engoron bars parties from posting about his staff (CNBC)."},{"date":"2023-10-20","title":"First fine: $5,000","summary":"Engoron fines Trump for the first violation (CNBC)."},{"date":"2023-10-25","title":"Second fine: $10,000","summary":"After putting Trump on the witness stand, Engoron finds his explanation 'hollow and untrue' and fines him $10,000 (CNBC)."},{"date":"2023-11-03","title":"Order extended to Trump's lawyers","summary":"Engoron cites 'hundreds' of threatening communications to his chambers (CNBC)."},{"date":"2023-11-30","title":"Appellate court reinstates the civil-trial gag order","summary":"After a two-week pause, the order is reinstated; Trump attacks the judge's wife before and after the ruling, and the clerk the day before (The Guardian)."},{"date":"2024-03-26","title":"Merchan imposes gag order in criminal case","summary":"The order protects witnesses, jurors, court staff, prosecutors and their relatives; the same day Trump posts about the judge's adult daughter (CBS News)."},{"date":"2024-04-01","title":"Order expanded to family members","summary":"After Trump's continued attacks on the judge's daughter, Merchan extends the order to family members of the Court and the District Attorney; the Appellate Division denies a stay on 9 April (Decision and Order; CBS News)."},{"date":"2024-04-30","title":"Criminal contempt on nine counts","summary":"Merchan fines Trump $9,000 and warns of jail (Decision and Order)."}],"location":{"name":"New York County Supreme Court, Manhattan","lat":40.7142,"lng":-74.0019},"custom":{"era":"post-presidency","posture":"judicial-finding","internationalLaw":[{"statute":"International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights","article":"Article 14(1)","provision":"Right to a fair and public hearing by a competent, independent and impartial tribunal, which depends on courts, staff, witnesses and jurors being free from intimidation"}],"iccRelevance":false,"victims":"Justice Engoron's principal law clerk and chambers staff; the Merchan court's staff, prospective and sworn jurors, and witnesses including Michael Cohen and Stormy Daniels; the judges' family members","perpetrators":"Donald Trump (then a former president and presidential candidate)","keyPoints":["Engoron imposed a gag order on 3 October 2023 after Trump shared a post attacking the judge's principal law clerk (CNBC).","Engoron found two violations and fined Trump $5,000 and then $10,000, finding his testimony about the second 'hollow and untrue' and warning that further violations could bring imprisonment (CNBC).","On 3 November 2023 Engoron extended the order to Trump's lawyers, writing that his chambers had been 'inundated with hundreds of harassing and threating phone calls, voicemails, emails, letters, and packages' since the trial began (CNBC).","Merchan's 26 March 2024 order barred Trump from commenting on witnesses, prospective jurors, court staff, prosecutors other than Bragg, and their relatives; Merchan called Trump's past statements 'threatening, inflammatory, denigrating' (CBS News; Decision and Order).","On 30 April 2024 Merchan found Trump in criminal contempt under Judiciary Law § 750(3) 'on nine separate occasions', fined him $1,000 per violation, ordered the posts removed, and warned he 'will impose an incarceratory punishment' if necessary (Decision and Order).","Merchan noted that $1,000 'will not achieve the desired result' against a contemnor who can easily afford it, so 'jail may be a necessary punishment' (Decision and Order).","In total Merchan found ten violations; during jury selection several prospective jurors asked to be excused, citing fears for their safety (CBS News)."],"searchAliases":["Trump contempt of court","Merchan gag order","Engoron law clerk"],"legalBasis":"N.Y. Judiciary Law §§ 750(3) and 751 (criminal contempt, adjudicated); the courts' inherent power to protect the administration of justice; ICCPR Art. 14. No international-crime characterisation is in play.","postureNote":"Adjudicated: two civil-trial violations (Engoron, October 2023) and ten criminal-contempt violations (Merchan, April–May 2024). Trump was out of office throughout. Trump argued the orders violated his First Amendment rights as a candidate; the appellate courts left them in place during the trials.","relatedIncidents":["trump-hush-money-cohen-stormy-daniels-conviction","trump-new-york-civil-fraud-judgment-454-million","attacks-on-judiciary"]}}