What is criminal contempt? Explaining the new charges facing Trump

In the latest update to Donald Trump’s election interference trial, the former president was held in criminal contempt on April 30 for a series of posts on the social media site Truth Social and his campaign website that Judge Juan Merchan ruled violated a gag order.

Trump trial live updates: Judge rules Trump violated gag order 9 times

But what exactly does it mean to be found in contempt of court?

Contempt can be a civil or criminal offense and generally falls into two categories: a defendant openly disrespecting courtroom authorities or refusing to obey a judge’s orders outside the courtroom.

Trump is facing nine counts of criminal contempt along with a $9,000 fine, or $1,000 for each post or repost he made from April 10-17 that targeted key witnesses in the case, including Michael Cohen and Stormy Daniels. Some of the posts also addressed members of the jury.

More: Donald Trump found in criminal contempt for 9 gag order violations, Judge Juan Merchan rules

“This Court's Expanded Order is lawful and unambiguous,” Merchan wrote in his order. “Defendant violated the Order by making social media posts about known witnesses pertaining to their participation in this criminal proceeding and by making public statements about jurors in this criminal proceeding.”

Marchan wrote that if Trump continues to violate the gag order, he will “consider whether, in some instances, jail may be a necessary punishment.”

Maya Homan is a 2024 election fellow at USA TODAY, focusing on Georgia politics. Follow her on X, formerly Twitter, as @MayaHoman.

This article originally appeared on Savannah Morning News: Trump guilty of criminal contempt - now what?