Judge Merchan Warns Trump of Online Threats.

During his arraignment hearing, former President Donald Trump was advised by Judge Juan Merchan to refrain from making statements that could incite violence or civil unrest. The prosecution presented a post by Trump on his social networking service, Truth Social, that showed a photo of him holding a baseball bat next to an image of Alvin Bragg, the district attorney in Manhattan who is bringing 34 felony counts against the former president stemming from 2016 hush money payments made to adult-film star Stormy Daniels. The judge stressed the importance of Trump’s rights under the First Amendment but disputed the defense’s argument that recent broadsides on social media simply reflect the former president’s frustration. Prosecutors argued that a protective order was necessary to compel Trump to tone down rhetoric that they said had required the district attorney’s office and New York City to take enhanced security measures in recent weeks.