Justice Arthur Engoron at Donald Trump's New York trial on Tuesday issued a harsh warning after the former president repeatedly attacked his clerk on social media and during a press conference.
Trump posed to Truth Social, a photo of Engoron's law clerk, who was standing next to Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer.
In it, he named the clerk and called her "Schumer's girlfriend."
"Personal attacks on members of my court staff are unacceptable and inappropriate and I will not tolerate them under any circumstances," Engoron said, in announcing the gag order.
"Yesterday I warned counsel of this and this was disregarded," he said.
Trump also ranted about the clerk during a press conference directly outside Engoron's courtroom door on Monday.
The gag order covers posts about any member of Engoron's staff.
"Failure to abide by this order will result in serious consequences," Engoron said.
Engoron said he ordered the post deleted, but it was already emailed "to millions."
A potential violation of the order could hold serious implications for Trump. Matthew Galluzzo, a New York City criminal defense attorney and former Manhattan prosecutor, previously wrote that Trump could face anything from a fine to a brief prison sentence if he were to ignore Engoron's orders. A court would only have to hold an evidentiary hearing about a potential violation to impose such a punishment.
Trump has long attacked judges and those involved in his legal issues. As a presidential candidate, he questioned whether Gonzalo Curiel, a federal judge, could adequately preside over a class action suit against Trump University due to his ethnicity. Trump's comments in that case were plainly racist.
