Trump Accused of Threatening Judge Hours After 'Incite Violence' Warning

Donald Trump has been accused of ignoring a judge's request not to incite violence by going after the same judge and his family in a speech, hours after the former president's historic arrest in New York.

Trump appeared in a courtroom on Tuesday to plead not guilty to 34 felony counts of falsifying business records. This is in relation to hush money he arranged to pay adult film star Stormy Daniels and former Playboy model Karen McDougal so they would keep alleged affairs he had with the women a secret prior to the 2016 election.

During Tuesday's arraignment in Manhattan, Acting New York Supreme Court Justice Juan Merchan warned the former president not to make comments or engage in conduct that has the "potential to incite violence, create civil unrest, or jeopardize the safety or well-being of any individuals."

Donald Trump speaks during an event at the Mar-a-Lago Club April 4, 2023 in West Palm Beach, Florida. The former U.S. president pleaded not guilty in a Manhattan courtroom today to 34 counts related to money paid to adult film star Stormy Daniels in 2016, the first criminal charges for any former U.S. president. Joe Raedle/Getty Images

Following his late March indictment, Trump has repeatedly attacked Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg and his investigation while denying any wrongdoing. He warned in March of the potential for "death and destruction" should he be charged.

Trump also removed a post on Truth Social that featured a photo of him holding a baseball bat next to an image of Bragg. This was used on a conservative news site the former president shared on social media.

Hours after his court appearance in New York, Trump gave a speech at his Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida. He continued to attack the investigation into him, deny any wrongdoing, and criticize Judge Merchan and his family.

"I have a Trump-hating judge with a Trump-hating wife and family whose daughter worked for [Vice President] Kamala Harris and now receives money from the Biden-Harris campaign," Trump said.

Merchan's daughter Loren is president of Authentic Campaigns, an agency that has worked with President Joe Biden, Harris, and other Democrats. However, both conservative and progressive lawyers have said this is not considered a conflict of interest for the judge.

Andrew Weissmann, a former federal prosecutor, said that Trump's comments about Judge Merchan were "appalling" and that heads of organized crime gangs would not behave in such a way.

"You do not have this behavior from a mob boss," Weissmann told MSNBC. "There is a rule in organized crime. You do not do this with respect to prosecutors. You don't do this with respect to the judge. You certainly don't go after their families. It's bad business to do that."

New York congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez also accused the former president of purposely targeting the judge and his family with his words.

"He is publicly intimidating a judge and pointing a spotlight on their family to his supporters—many of whom have admitted in court to committing violence in his name," Ocasio-Cortez tweeted. "He knows what he's doing."

The Democrat made a similar accusation after the former president's eldest son, Donald Trump Jr., posted a picture of Merchant's daughter online. It was being used by right-wing news sites.

"Because nothing says 'innocent' like threatening a judge's family," Ocasio-Cortez wrote. "Let's be very clear: intimidation and stochastic terror are the core tools of Trump and the fascist movements that support him.

"They rely on it to skirt consequence and silence others—and each time it works, they grow more brazen. One reason why accountability is so important."

While sharing a clip of Trump's remarks at Mar-a-Lago, the Citizens for Responsibility & Ethics in Washington (CREW) tweeted: "Make no mistake, Trump is trying to point his angry mob at the judge and his family.

"We all remember what happened when he pointed them at Congress."

Speaking outside the Manhattan court on Tuesday, Trump's lawyers defended the former president's social-media activity. They added that he was not the one who mocked up the image of himself holding the baseball bat next to Bragg.

The original image of Trump holding the bat was taken in the White House in July 2017 while the Republican was promoting a "Made in America" initiative.

Trump lawyer Susan Necheles also denied that the former president had been threatening Mercan with his Truth Social posts, with Trump previously suggesting the judge "HATES ME."

"He is not going after the judge. He commented that he thought there were some issues that he thought may cause a conflict. That's not going after the judge," Necheles said.

"That's not threatening the judge. He's not going after the judge. He is angry because the DA brought a case that's unjustified."

Newsweek has emailed Trump's legal team for comment.