Trump's New Threat Crosses a Line: Ex-Prosecutor

Former President Donald Trump has gone "over the line" and should be taken into custody for his latest apparent threat, according to former federal prosecutor Joyce Vance.

During an arraignment hearing in Washington, D.C., on Thursday, Trump pleaded not guilty to four felony charges related to efforts to overturn the 2020 presidential election result and over his actions surrounding the January 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol.

Approximately 24 hours later, the ex-president posted the following to his Truth Social account: "IF YOU GO AFTER ME, I'M COMING AFTER YOU!"

Vance, former U.S. attorney for the Northern District of Alabama, said that the post went beyond "free speech" and Trump should be forced to "explain it to the judge" a short time later in a post to X, formerly Twitter.

"Free speech is one thing, but this is over the line," Vance wrote. "As a prosecutor, I'd be sorely tempted to make a motion to revoke Trump's pre-trial bond & put him in custody. Let him explain it to the judge."

Trump spokesperson Steven Cheung previously told Newsweek that "Joyce Vance is a moron and loses sleep because she has Trump Derangement Syndrome."

Newsweek reached out for comment to Trump lawyers Todd Blanche and John Lauro via email on Friday evening.

Vance was not alone in suggesting that Trump could face legal consequences for writing the post.

"This is the kind of thing that DOJ alerts the court to with respect to any defendant out on bail (in this case, in 3 criminal cases, and also is a threat in civil cases like E Jean Carroll)," former prosecutor Andrew Weissmann posted on X. "Not addressing this will only cause it to metastasize with undue deadly risks."

"Pre-sentencing report, Exhibit #4,288," posted national security lawyer Bradley Moss, before adding, "I do not view this as sufficient to warrant notification to the court .... Yet"

Trump has previously faced criticism for making alleged threats following his two other criminal indictments this year.

During Trump's May arraignment hearing on 34 counts of falsifying business records in New York, Justice Juan Merchan warned the former president against making comments with the "potential to incite violence, create civil unrest, or jeopardize the safety or well-being of any individuals."

Hours later, Trump told supporters gathered at Mar-a-Lago that he had "a Trump-hating judge with a Trump-hating wife and family whose daughter worked for [Vice President] Kamala Harris and now receives money from the Biden-Harris campaign."

Special Counsel Jack Smith, whose investigations resulted in the January 6 indictment and and an indictment related to Trump's handling of classified documents, has also been repeatedly denounced by the former president.

Trump frequently refers to Smith as "deranged," while having called him "a terrorist" and "a Trump hater"—comments that some have suggested are intended to incite violence from his MAGA base.

In a Truth Social post last month, Trump called Smith a "sick puppet" who should be "defunded" and "put out to rest," while adding,"Republicans must get tough or the Dems will steal another Election."

Within hours of Trump's Friday post, Smith quoted it while filing a motion for a protective order in the January 6 case that would ban the former president from disclosing discovery materials.

"The special counsel just alerted the court to Trump's threat-tweet in a motion asking the court for a protective order so it can begin providing discovery," Vance tweeted. "There would be serious consequences for Trump if he violates the order. If he keeps it up, he's got to end up in jail."

Trump denies any criminal wrongdoing and has pleaded not guilty to all of the charges on which he's been arraigned. As the Republican 2024 presidential election front-runner, he claims to be the victim of "election interference" and the target of a "witch hunt" by his political opponents.

Update 08/04/23, 11:41 p.m.: This article has been updated to note that Special Counsel Jack Smith filed a related court motion and to include an additional related tweet from Joyce Vance.