Fact Check: Trump Allegedly Sent a 'Farewell Message' Saying He Could Be 'Thrown in Jail.' Here's the Truth
Claim:
Trump said in an April 2024 "farewell message": "If things don't go our way, I could be thrown in jail."
Rating:
On April 22, 2024, X account @GeneralMCNews posted an image that appeared to be a message from former U.S. President Donald Trump. "Tomorrow is my GAG ORDER hearing," the message read. "If things don't go our way, I could be thrown in jail." The X post received more than 536,500 views, as of this writing.
BREAKING: Donald Trump says he could be thrown in jail tomorrow. pic.twitter.com/9v745HUdkz
— The General (@GeneralMCNews) April 23, 2024
Some users in the comment section questioned the authenticity of the message – "I could not find this Trump post to Truth Social," wrote one. "Where was this posted? I did not find it on Truth," wrote another.
Trump was on trial for 34 felony counts of first-degree falsifying business records related to alleged hush money payments made in 2016. He pleaded not guilty to the charges. The judge in the case imposed a gag order on him to stop him from attacking relatives involved in the case.
The email was real. The Archive of Political Emails, a 501(c)(3) organization dedicated to documenting emails sent by politicians and political groups, archived it on its site.
(Image via The Archive of Political Emails)
The message can also be accessed on an archived version of Trump's fundraising site.
(donaldjtrump.com)
One user also responded to the above tweet claiming to have received a similar message via text.
Yep….same message sent via text🙏🏼 pic.twitter.com/BHmjPopaDS
— Sonia Monica (@GodsWarrior70) April 23, 2024
The message was additionally mentioned in an NBC News article [archived here] published on April 23, which read:
An attorney for the district attorney's office argued that Trump "seems to be angling" for incarceration by repeatedly and knowingly violating the gag order. Prosecutors had asked that he be held in contempt for attacking witnesses and others in the case, saying that they aren't asking that Trump be imprisoned but want him fined for at least 10 violations.
The charge came just hours after Trump warned in a fundraising appeal, which he called a "FAREWELL MESSAGE," that he "could be thrown in jail."
Trump has been awaiting the hearing on the gag order since last week and, in the meantime, has continued to jab at witnesses in the case outside the courtroom, on his campaign website and on social media.
Trump has also previously publicly stated that it would be a "great honor" to be jailed for a gag-order violation.
Sources:
'Https://Twitter.Com/GeneralMCNews/Status/1782602227074388479'. X (Formerly Twitter), https://twitter.com/GeneralMCNews/status/1782602227074388479. Accessed 23 Apr. 2024.
Protess, Ben, et al. 'Will Trump Go to Prison If He Is Convicted?' The New York Times, 19 Apr. 2024. NYTimes.com, https://www.nytimes.com/2024/04/19/nyregion/trump-prison-stormy-daniels-trial.html.
Subject: My Farewell Message. https://politicalemails.org/messages/1396673. Accessed 23 Apr. 2024.
'What You Missed on Day 6 of Trump's Trial: A Witness Details Salacious Stories and the Judge Bristles at Gag Order Arguments'. NBC News, 23 Apr. 2024, https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/donald-trump/trump-trial-day-6-missed-recap-summary-rcna149075.
