Rikers Island prison has been prepared for Donald Trump
This week Judge Juan Merchan made explicitly clear to Donald Trump that he’ll be locked up if he commits any more gag order violations. Trump has sheepishly abided by the gag order ever since (and in fact Trump has abided by it since the judge first brought up jail time a week ago). But the reality is that Trump could lose control and mouth off about a witness at any moment, and could therefore be thrown in jail any day now.
The Secret Service already tipped off the media last month that it has a plan for guarding Trump while he’s behind bars. Now the mayor of New York City has announced that the local prison on Rikers Island is indeed prepared for Trump to serve as an inmate.
Trump would be in isolated protected custody and not in the general population, but by all accounts Rikers Island is a hellhole. Trump would have a terrible time there, even in isolation, even if it were only for one night. Trump can’t even handle being in court without falling apart, let alone jail.
That said, the next move belongs to Trump. He always has the option of shutting up if he wants to remain out of prison during his trial. If he violates the gag order again and gets locked up, that’s on him. But let’s keep in mind that even if Trump behaves during this trial, he faces the possibility of conviction and imprisonment at the end of this trial. Rikers Island looms larger for Trump by the day.
