Judge threatens to hold Trump in contempt over post he ordered to be deleted

Judge Arthur Engoron on Friday threatened to hold former President Donald Trump in contempt of court after learning that a Truth Social post he ordered the president to delete was archived on his campaign website.

Engoron issued a gag order against Trump earlier this month to prevent him from publicly attacking the court staff. The order followed Trump posted an image of the court clerk, whom he referred to as "Schumer's girlfriend." While Trump deleted the post, the campaign distributed its original message in an email, which was archived on the campaign website and remained visible for weeks, The Hill reported.

The judge handed down a $5,000 fine for what he called a "first time violation."

"Make no mistake: future violations, whether intentional or unintentional, will subject the violator to far more severe sanctions, which may include steeper financial penalties, holding Donald Trump in contempt of court, and possibly imprisoning him," he said, according to the Associated Press.

Trump's legal team blamed the size and organizational depth of the Trump campaign for the violation. Engoron, however, insisted that Trump remained responsible for the campaign.

Ben Whedon is an editor and reporter for Just the News. Follow him on X, formerly Twitter.