Judge threatens to hold Trump without bail if he violates strict conditions of release

During his arraignment on Thursday, Donald Trump was warned by Magistrate Judge Moxila A. Upadhyaya that he could be "held pending trial" if he violated the strict conditions of his release.

The former president was allowed to return to his summer home in Bedminster, New Jersey, but only after agreeing to abide by the conditions agreed upon by prosecutors and the defense.



According to ABC News, Trump "must not violate federal or state laws; he must appear in court as required; he must sign an appearance bond; and he must not communicate about the facts of the case with anyone Trump knows to be a witness, except through counsel or in presence of counsel."

As NBC News reports, the judge made it very clear to Trump that he was not to engage in any conduct that could influence proceedings.

"It is a crime to try to influence a juror or to threaten or attempt to bribe a witness or any other person who may have information about your case, or to retaliate against anyone for providing information about your case to the prosecution, or to otherwise obstruct the administration of justice," he said. "Do you understand these warnings and consequences, sir?"

The former president said "yes," and judge went on to remind him that he "may be held pending trial in this case" if he violated any of the conditions.

In his third arraignment of the year, the Department of Justice under President Biden formally charged Trump with four criminal counts related to alleged attempts to overturn the results of the 2020 election: conspiracy to defraud the United States, conspiracy to obstruct an official proceeding, obstruction, and conspiracy against the right to vote and to have one’s vote counted.

He pleaded not guilty on all four counts.

Sen. Ted Cruz lamented the fact that the case was being tried in Washington, DC, and predicted things would not go in Trump's favor.

"The likelihood that a DC jury will vote to convict Donald Trump is exceptionally high," Cruz said on his podcast. "The facts don't matter. The laws don’t matter. They hate him. That's a big part of the reason why the Biden DOJ wants to bring this case in DC, which means with a far-left judge and a far-left jury, there is a very real possibility that Donald Trump ends up being convicted."