Trump returns to his campaign facing a warning of jail time if he violates a trial gag order

WAUKESHA, Wis. (AP) — Donald Trump on Wednesday will use a one-day break from his hush money trial to rally voters in the battleground states of Wisconsin and Michigan, a day after he was held in contempt of court and threatened with jail time for violating a gag order.

His remarks will be closely watched after he received a $9,000 fine for making public statements about people connected to the case. In imposing the fine for posts on Trump’s Truth Social account and campaign website, Judge Juan M. Merchan said that if Trump continued to violate his orders, he “will impose an incarceratory punishment.”

The former president is trying to achieve a balancing act unprecedented in American history by running for a second term as the presumptive Republican nominee while also fighting felony charges in New York. Trump frequently goes after Merchan, prosecutors and potential witnesses at his rallies and on social media, attack lines that play well with his supporters but that have potentially put him in legal jeopardy.

<bsp-list-loadmore data-module="" class=«PageListStandardB» data-gtm-region=«Election 2024» data-gtm-topic=«No Value» data-gtm-modulestyle=«List B»> <bsp-custom-headline custom-headline=«div»> Election 2024 </bsp-custom-headline> <bsp-custom-headline custom-headline=«div»> Hush money trial judge raises threat of jail as he finds Trump violated gag order, fines him $9K </bsp-custom-headline> <bsp-custom-headline custom-headline=«div»> Trump and DeSantis meet to make peace and discuss fundraising for the former president’s campaign </bsp-custom-headline> <bsp-custom-headline custom-headline=«div»> Have you heard the one about Trump? Biden tries humor on the campaign trail </bsp-custom-headline> </bsp-list-loadmore>

Tru