The New York judge overseeing former President Donald Trump's prosecution has received dozens of threats since Tuesday's arraignment, according to NBC News.
Judge Juan Merchan and his family have received multiple threats since Trump's court appearance, two sources told the outlet. One official told NBC that "dozens" of threats had been directed at Merchan, but did not specify a time frame. Another source said that Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg and other top officials have also continued to receive threats through calls, emails and letters.
Bragg last month received a death threat and a suspicious white powder that police are still investigating.
"ALVIN: I AM GOING TO KILL YOU!!!!!!!!!!!!!" the message said, according to the report.
Police have ramped up security for the D.A.'s office and court officers are "boosting security for the judge and the court as a whole as a precaution," according to the report.
The D.A's office has recently even gone as far as removing online bios of employees in response to "troubling" social media posts, including on Trump's Truth Social platform, a source told the outlet.
Trump and his allies have repeatedly targeted Merchan and his family. The former president ahead of his arrest attacked him as a "highly partisan judge" and claimed his family are "well known Trump haters."
"HIS DAUGHTER WORKED FOR 'KAMALA' & NOW THE BIDEN-HARRIS CAMPAIGN," Trump wrote on Truth Social.
Trump's son Donald Trump Jr. shared a Breitbart article that included a photo of Merchan's daughter to claim that the judge was biased because of his daughter's previous employment.
Merchan's daughter was listed as the president of Authentic Campaigns, a firm then-candidate Kamala Harris' campaign used for digital fundraising and advertising, according to NBC News. The firm identifies itself as a "digital agency progressives can trust to get the job done right."
Campaign finance reports show that the firm also worked with Biden's 2020 presidential campaign.
"There's no available evidence to suggest that Merchan's daughter has done any subsequent work for Biden and no evidence to suggest that she 'now' works for a Biden political operation," according to NBC News.
The D.A.'s office on Tuesday asked Merchan to issue an order banning Trump from discussing facts in the case, citing the "significant concern about the potential danger this kind of rhetoric poses to our city, to potential jurors and witnesses, and to the judicial process."
Merchan denied the request but asked "counsel on both sides" to speak to clients and witnesses to tone down the rhetoric.
"Please refrain from making comments or engaging in conduct that has the potential to incite violence, create civil unrest, or jeopardize the safety or well-being of any individuals," he said. "Also, please do not engage in words or conduct which jeopardizes the rule of law, particularly as it applies to these proceedings in this courtroom."
But Trump just hours later during a speech at Mar-a-Lago again targeted Merchan, Bragg and their families.
"I have a Trump-hating judge, with a Trump-hating wife and family, whose daughter worked for Kamala Harris and now receives money from the Biden-Harris campaign and a lot of it," Trump said in the speech.
Trump attorney Joe Tacopina denied that the comments were an attack on the judge.
"It is not an attack on the judge or certainly his family," he told NBC News. "No one is suggesting anything should happen to the judge or his family."
Trump spokesman Steve Cheung told NBC News on Wednesday: "The Constitution guarantees impartial process and free speech. President Trump is laying out all the facts. Facts matter."
But Trump's attacks have drawn warnings from legal experts that he could face a "gag order" in the case and condemnation from both sides of the aisle.
"We condemn any type of attacks on any judge," White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said Wednesday when asked about Trump's attacks.
"Nothing says 'innocent' like threatening a judge's family," Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., tweeted after Don Jr. shared a photo of the judge's daughter. "Let's be very clear: intimidation and stochastic terror are the core tools of Trump and the fascist movements that support him. They rely on it to skirt consequence and silence others - and each time it works, they grow more brazen. One reason why accountability is so important."
Even "Fox & Friends" host Steve Doocy pushed back on Trump's rhetoric, warning that "it is a very bad look to attack the family."
Legal experts warn the attacks could create more legal woes for the former president.
"Attacking the judge and attacking the prosecutor. None of that's helpful. And anything he says now is fair game for the prosecutors to use at trial. So I'm sure his lawyers would prefer that he not say anything about this case," Randall Eliason, a former federal prosecutor and George Washington University Law professor, told NPR.
"But that's not going to happen, right?" he added. "And we've seen that he is going to continue commenting on it. I mean, he's done that for six-plus years. But now the consequences are potentially much more severe because now he's not just under investigation. There are actual criminal charges pending. And if he continues, you know, talking about the charges in public, he's almost certain to say something that's going to end up hurting his case."
