Donald Trump needs to be jailed NOW
Enough is enough! Juror number 2 in the Trump election interference trial has quit because she’s afraid. She’s afraid because Donald Trump went on “Truth” Social and quoted Fox News cretin Jesse Waters, who said, “They are catching undercover liberal activists lying to the judge in order to get on the Trump jury.” The evidence for this absurdity? Waters is outraged because juror number 2, an oncology nurse, had the nerve to say, “No one is above the law.”
This is a violation of Trump’s gag order. It’s juror intimidation. Specifically, Trump is prohibited from “Making or directing others to make public statements about any prospective juror in this criminal proceeding.” What’s more, Judge Juan Merchan has already rebuked Trump for making an intimidating, audible gesture toward a juror while in court.
This is the same species of bullshit that ruined the lives of Georgia election workers Ruby Freeman and Shaye Moss. This is the same species of bullshit that created the lie that the 2020 election was stolen. This is the same species of bullshit that led to the January 6 insurrection. This is jury tampering by stochastic terror.
New Yorkers are NOT some special fearless breed, they are NOT immune to intimidation, they are just like everybody else in America. They are subject to the same fears and concerns of anyone else. They are justly subject to fears that angry mobs, stochastically provoked by the sinister forces behind the MAGA cult, could harm or even murder them or their families. And they have every right to worry. The threat isn’t theoretical. The threat is real.
So Trump has already been warned about this kind of behaviour twice by the judge. Judge Merchan scheduled a hearing for Tuesday, April 23rd to determine Trump’s punishment for violating his gag order. While awaiting the hearing, Trump posted the Jesse Waters quote, violating it further.
Could Trump’s brazen violation of judicial orders while awaiting this hearing increase the gravity of his punishment? Could the judge, who already moved the hearing forward by a day, move it even closer and jail Donald Trump? Former prosecutor Glen Kershner says yes. “I think the warning has already been delivered, formally and forcefully,” Kershner said. Kershner believes Judge Merchan could decree a “summary contempt” and, with the bang of his gavel, order Trump into jail.
I think it’s high time. Trump needs to be jailed NOW. The fear he’s creating is causing real harm in the real world and it needs to be stopped. The resignation of juror number 2 is proof of that.
Former Trump lawyer and trial witness Michael Cohen has also voiced fears. He reports loss of sleep, loss of weight and anxiety about the hate that Trump’s stochastic attacks on him have caused. His social media accounts are awash in death threats. He gets anonymous, middle-of-the-night threatening phone calls. He wishes he didn’t have to testify. Who could blame him?
I don’t want to paint a completely dark picture. The silver lining in this black cloud is unmistakable. Jurors are human beings, and criminal defendants need to try to make jurors their friends. By stochastically threatening the jury, Trump is ensuring that he has no friends there. When it comes time to decide a verdict, mercy will be in understandably short supply, and Donald Trump will have no one to blame but himself. And, as ever, ladies and gentlemen, brothers and sisters, comrades and friends, stay safe.
Robert Harrington is an American expat living in Britain. He is a portrait painter.