Former President Donald Trump is continuing to make a nuisance of himself in his civil fraud lawsuit in New York, as he recently reposted a social media comment referring to the “citizen’s arrest” of the New York Attorney General and the judge overseeing his case.
The original comment, made on the Truth Social platform on Monday November, 13th, described a Truth Social user’s “fantasy” to see Attorney General Letitia James and Judge Arthur Engoron “placed under citizen’s arrest for blatant election interference and harassment.” The former president, 77, then ‘re-truthed’ the post on Tuesday, November 14th, and has understandably come under fire from some legal experts for potentially inciting violence.
Legal Experts Weigh In On Donald Trump's Comment
"Sometimes [Trump] says incendiary things that his followers act on, as in [that January 6] 'will be wild,'" said former U.S. attorney and deputy assistant attorney general Harry Litman – a frequent Trump critic – in a post on X, the same day that Trump reposted the citizen's arrest comment. "This is an actual incitement to break the law and it greatly endangers the judge and AG," Litman added.
George Washington University Law Prof. Jonathan Turley, who frequently defends Trump in the media, also warned: "Just in case anyone is taking such a statement as more than a fantasy, there is no basis for a citizen's arrest and such an effort to physically hold either the judge or the attorney general would most certainly constitute a criminal act."
You'd be forgiven for thinking that Trump would try to be less inflammatory when it comes to speaking publicly about the prosecution in his civil fraud case – especially after receiving $15,000 in fines already for violating a gag order imposed by Judge Engoron last month restricting all comments about court staff – but this latest repost may be an attempt to indirectly get his thoughts across in a way that won't get him in trouble.
"The test for incitement is challenging for prosecutors," said Harry Sandick, a former prosecutor for the Southern District of New York. "Trump's lawyers would say that his 're-truth' is not an endorsement of the underlying message, that since it is a 'fantasy' it lacks the necessary imminence for incitement, and also that by invoking an 'arrest,' he is only asking that the legal process function properly." Seems like he may get away without a fine this time!
