A New York state judge fined former President Donald Trump $5,000 for violating a gag order in his ongoing civil trial for alleged fraud — though the judge had earlier threatened jail time — marking the first consequences Trump has faced for his speech in the legal cases against him as multiple judges impose gag orders on him.
Former President Donald Trump speaks during the first day of his civil fraud trial at New York State ... [+]
Judge Arthur Engoron levied the $5,000 fine on Trump after imposing a gag order on October 3 that barred the ex-president and other parties from publicly speaking about court staff, after Trump made a disparaging post about Engoron’s clerk.
Trump deleted the post on Truth Social on October 3, hours after it was posted and right before the gag order was imposed, but the post stayed up on Trump’s campaign website until Thursday, when it was first reported on social media.
Trump’s attorney Christopher Kise apologized after Engoron complained about the post at the start of the trial Friday, with the attorney arguing the post being left up had been an “inadvertent” mistake.
This story is breaking and will be updated.