The judge overseeing former president Donald Trump’s case in Manhattan regarding alleged hush money payments has received unsubstantiated threats since Mr Trump’s arraignment on Tuesday, NBC News reported.
One official told NBC News that Judge Juan Merchan and his chamber have received “dozens” of threats since Mr Trump vocally criticised the judge. Additionally, District Attorney Alvin Bragg has received threat since news broke that a grand jury would indict the former president.
The threats have been made in the form of letters, phone calls and emails. As a result, the New York Police Department detail assigned to Mr Bragg’s office is providing extra security to affected staff while court security officers are providing the additional protection for the judge and court.
Mr Trump was formally arraigned and arrested on Tuesday in relation to making hush money payments to adult film actress Stormy Daniels about an alleged sexual affair the two had.
During his speech, Mr Trump assailed Judge Merchan, who also presided over a criminal case regarding two subsidiaries of the Trump Organisation, for being biased against him since his daughter worked for Vice President Kamala Harris.
“I have a Trump-hating judge with a Trump-hating wife and family whose daughter work[ed] for Kamala Harris,” he said at his Mar-a-Lago estate. He also criticised Mr Bragg during his speech on Tuesday after his arraignment.
“The criminal is the district attorney because he illegally leaked massive amounts of grand jury information,” he said. “For which he should be prosecuted, or at a minimum he should resign.”
Separately, the former president’s son Donald Trump Jr posted a photo of Judge Merchan’s daughter. This came despite Judge Merchan instructing Mr Trump to stop making social media posts that could inflame tension.
Notably, Judge Merchan refrained from imposing a gag order.
