Donald Trump loyalist Laura Loomer said she wants the former president to be arrested for missing his New York trial in order to boost his 2024 election hopes.
Loomer, a far-right activist, made the remarks after Judge Juan Merchan warned the former president he faces being arrested if he skips any day of his falsifying business records trial without a valid reason. Under New York state law, Trump must attend the entirety of his trial, which is expected to last six to eight weeks, unless he gets permission from the judge not to attend certain days.
On the first day of the trial, Merchan denied Trump’s request to miss the criminal proceedings on April 25 so he could attend the Supreme Court oral arguments on his presidential immunity defense. Trump also requested not to be present at the trial in New York so he could attend his son Barron’s high school graduation in May. Merchan hasn’t yet made a decision on the matter, saying it will depend on whether “we are on time and where we are in the trial.”
David Dee Delgado/Getty Images
In a post on X, formerly Twitter, Loomer suggested Trump should “call their bluff” and risk arrest for skipping the trial.
“I want to see them arrest Donald Trump so we can watch him raise $100 million overnight and win the election in a landslide,” Loomer posted.
“Donald Trump should just skip court and let them arrest him.”
Trump’s office has been contacted for comment via email.
Loomer, who was among dozens of people who rallied in support of Trump outside the Manhattan court on Monday, also made derogatory remarks about Merchan’s daughter, while suggesting the judge “will become a bigger fundraiser” for Trump than Loren Merchan is for the Democrats if the former president is arrested.
Loren Merchan is president of Authentic Campaigns, a firm Vice President Kamala Harris used for fundraising and advertising during her presidential campaign, and whose past clients also include President Joe Biden.
Trump has been placed under a gag order by Merchan, preventing the former president from making public comments about court staff, jurors, potential witnesses and lawyers from the Manhattan district attorney’s office, or their families.
The gag order was put in place after the former president made multiple comments about the judge’s daughter on social media, including calling her a “Rabid Trump Hater.”
Speaking outside the Manhattan court on Monday, Trump lashed out at Merchan for denying his request to attend the upcoming Supreme Court hearing on whether he can cite presidential immunity to dismiss the federal charges against him over his alleged criminal attempt to overturn the 2020 election results.
“This is something that we’ve been waiting for a long time, and the judge, of course is not going to allow us — he’s a very conflicted judge — and he’s not going to allow us to go to that,” Trump said.
“He won’t allow me to leave here for half a day to D.C. and go before the United States Supreme Court, because he thinks he’s superior, I guess, to the Supreme Court.”
Uncommon Knowledge
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Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.