Judge threatens to imprison Donald Trump for violating gag order

NEW DELHI: The judge overseeing the $250 million civil fraud trial involving Donald Trump in New York has suggested the possibility of imprisoning the former president, NBC News reported.

This suggestion came after Trump failed to adhere to a partial gag order that required him to delete a social media post criticizing the judge's law clerk.

Judge Arthur Engoron disclosed in court on Friday morning that Trump had shared an inaccurate and derogatory post about his clerk on social media. He had a conversation with the former president about this issue, according to NBC News.

Engoron stated, "I instructed him to promptly remove the post, and he assured me that he had done so." However, the judge further mentioned, "Despite this directive, I recently discovered that the offensive post had not been removed from a website. This constitutes a clear violation of the gag order. I want to emphasize that non-compliance will lead to severe penalties."

A spokesperson for the New York State Attorney General Letitia James, who initiated the case, chose not to comment on the matter. Trump's legal representatives, Christopher Kise and Alina Habba, have not yet responded to requests for comment.