CNN Analyst Warns Jim Acosta of 'Civil Unrest' if Donald Trump Gets Jailed for Violating Gag Order

CNN analyst Mark Preston’s recent warning to Jim Acosta about potential civil unrest if former President Donald Trump gets jailed, and this has ignited discussions about the legal complexities and political ramifications of such an event. The situation revolves around Trump’s repeated violations of Judge Juan Merchan’s gag order in the Stormy Daniels hush money election interference trial, prosecuted by Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg. On a recent segment of CNN This Morning, Acosta posed a question of whether it’s time to incarcerate Trump for these violations.

Acosta exclaimed, “...maybe it’s time for the judge to send a message. Put him [Trump] in the holding cell for a couple of hours, see if that changes his mood. What do you think?” As per Mediaite, legal analyst Elliot Williams expressed, “Absolutely! The problem is that it’s not clear how much authority the judge has...The judge, at a minimum, has to have a hearing under New York state law. It’s not the judge being weak or feckless or afraid of Donald Trump. The law says that there’s a process that he has to follow."

Williams then added, "And now the question is, is it civil contempt where you’re trying to compel him to behave better in the future, is criminal contempt where you’re locking him up for things he’s done in the past, which is much harder and almost, in effect, requires a separate trial.”

Furthermore, Williams also added, “My big question is, why is the judge waiting until the 23rd? I guess four days from now? To even have that hearing in the first place. He could have done so yesterday or today to really send that message that this is important to the court and this conduct needs to stop.” As per The Hill, Preston, however, warned that such actions could lead to societal upheaval.

Preston noted, "You know, I don’t think we know, but it really does put us between this rock and a hard place...the rock is like, listen, he has done something that’s wrong. And if it was any of us sitting at this table, would we be, you know, held to a higher or was held to a higher standard? Would we have to go...into that holding cell? " He continued, "I think that if he does go into this hole, if that were to happen...I think you would probably see civil unrest across the country, certainly in some cities. That’s 1. And 2 politically, if I’m the Biden campaign, I don’t want to necessarily see him in jail because that’s just going to get people more inflamed and more fired up. I don’t think that’s necessarily great for the country. Even if we are bending the rules for someone.”

Trump’s strategic use of legal battles for political messaging has been interesting to witness. His recent comments at the courthouse, challenging the gag order, asserting his freedom of expression, highlighted the contentious nature of the proceedings. The upcoming hearing on April 23 will address these issues, amidst heightened public scrutiny.