Trump fined and threatened with jail time after violating gag order in hush money trial
New York, New York - The judge overseeing Donald Trump's hush money trial has ruled the former president violated a gag order placed on the case.
On Tuesday, Judge Juan Merchan ruled to hold Trump in contempt for violating the order nine times in recent weeks.
Trump has been ordered to pay a fine of $1,000 for each violation, totaling $9,000.
He has also been ordered to remove seven "offending" social media posts and two posts on his campaign website by 2:15 PM that same day.
Judge Merchan originally placed a partial gag order on the case in March, which aimed to prevent Trump from continuing to publicly attack people involved in the case.
The order was expanded earlier this month after Trump launched several attacks against Merchan's daughter, who is not directly involved in the trial in any way.
Trump is facing 34 felony charges in the case for allegedly falsifying business records in an effort to hide payments made to porn star Stormy Daniels to cover up an affair.
Judge Merchan also noted that he could "impose an incarceratory punishment" in the future if Trump continues to violate the order.
Cover photo: Seth Wenig / POOL / AFP