Judge Merchan Threatens Trump With ‘Immediate Arrest and Imprisonment’ Over Gag Order Violations

‘Warning: your failure to appear in court may result in your immediate arrest and imprisonment for contempt of court,’ the judge wrote in his order.

(Left) Judge Juan M. Merchan poses in his chambers in New York on March 14, 2024. (Right) Former President Donald Trump at Manhattan Criminal Court in New York City on March 25, 2024. Seth Wenig/AP Photo; Spencer Platt/Pool/AFP via Getty Images

The judge presiding over former President Donald Trump’s criminal trial in New York has issued an order requiring the former president to attend a court hearing on his alleged violations of a gag order, with the judge threatening that failure to appear could lead to his immediate arrest and imprisonment.

New York State Supreme Court Justice Juan Merchan issued the order on April 25, setting a court hearing for May 1 at which he'll weigh four alleged instances of President Trump’s violating a gag order.