Mary Trump Says Donald Trump ‘Could Be in Jail by This Weekend’

Donald Trump’s estranged niece has warned that the former president “could be in jail by this weekend,” after the judge overseeing his criminal trial held him in contempt for violating a gag order.

On Tuesday, Judge Juan Merchan fined the presumptive Republican 2024 presidential nominee $9,000 for seven messages posted on his Truth Social media platform and two messages on his campaign website. According to Merchan, the series of posts violated a gag order barring any attacks on jurors and witnesses.

Merchan stated in his written order that he would not tolerate further violations from Trump, adding that “if necessary and appropriate,” he would impose “an incarceratory punishment” on Trump.

Mary Trump—daughter of Donald Trump’s late brother Fred Trump—later weighed in on the ruling on social media. The psychologist, who has criticized her uncle in a number of occasions, responded to a post from CNN anchor Kaitlan Collins.

Taking to X, formerly Twitter, Collins wrote: “Whoa. In his gag order ruling, Judge Merchan laments that Trump can’t be fined more than $1,000 for his violations.

“‘While $1,000 may suffice in most instances to protect the dignity of the judicial system…it unfortunately will not achieve the desired result in those instances where the contemnor can easily afford such a fine.’ Because he can’t impose a fine of $2,500 or $150,000, ‘jail may be a necessary punishment.'”

Responding, Mary Trump commented: “Important note: Judge Merchan says jail might be necessary next time…and the next hearing is this Thursday. Donald could be in jail by this weekend.”

Newsweek has contacted representatives of Donald Trump and Mary Trump via email for comment.

Last month, Mary Trump suggested in a Substack post that her uncle was starting to “fray at the edges.” The psychologist suggested the rules imposed on Donald Trump by Merchan would cause him to “freak out.”

Donald Trump pleaded not guilty to 34 felony counts of falsifying business records in relation to so-called hush money he arranged for his lawyer, Michael Cohen, to pay adult film star Stormy Daniels to keep an alleged affair she had with the former president a secret ahead of the 2016 election.

The money was listed in Donald Trump’s company records as “legal fees,” which prosecutors suggest was part of an unlawful attempt to influence the outcome of the 2016 race. Donald Trump admitted to reimbursing the $130,000 to Cohen, but has denied all accusations of wrongdoing, saying that the trial is part of a political witch hunt aimed at derailing his bid for another term in the White House.

Merchan had placed a gag order on Donald Trump, prohibiting him from making public statements about “known or reasonably foreseeable witnesses concerning their potential participation” in the trial or “public statements about any prospective juror or any juror.”

Following Donald Trump’s comments, Merchan found the defendant in contempt for nine violations of the gag order related to the Truth Social and campaign website posts and imposed a fine of $1,000 for each violation. The judge also said that in the future he would consider “whether in some instances, jail may be a necessary punishment.”

Donald Trump was also ordered by Merchan to take down the offending posts from Truth Social and his campaign website by 2:15 p.m. ET on Tuesday.

After the posts were removed, Donald Trump lashed out in a Truth Social post, denouncing Merchan as a “highly conflicted judge,” before accusing him of “rigging” the upcoming presidential election.

While Donald Trump could face stiffer penalties for additional gag order violations, his Truth Social posts shared on Tuesday are unlikely to result in jail time, as the order does not specifically apply to Merchan himself.

However, Donald Trump could face further fallout. Last week, prosecutors presented four additional potential violations. Merchan has scheduled a hearing to discuss those statements on Thursday morning.

In addition to Donald Trump’s criminal trial in New York City, the U.S. Supreme Court is currently hearing arguments on his claims of presidential immunity, in connection to his federal indictment for alleged election interference.