Trump slams judge in Truth Social rant hours after being hit by contempt of court ruling

In the wake of Judge Juan Merchan slapping him with a contempt of court ruling, Donald Trump took to Truth Social and slammed the ruling — and the ensuing $9,000 fine — as a ploy to take away his First Amendment right to free speech.

Merchan ruled earlier Tuesday that Trump violated a gag order in his New York hush money criminal trial in at least nine separate instances. As a result, Trump will be fined $1,000 for each violation and was forced to remove the offending posts that violated the gag order from his Truth Social page.