The New York City mayor, Eric Adams, said the city’s notorious Rikers Island jail and its department of corrections were “ready” to receive Donald Trump, should the former US president and presumptive Republican presidential nominee make history and become the first former White House occupant ever put behind bars.
“They’re professionals,” Adams told reporters on Tuesday. “They’ll be ready.”
Trump is already the first former president ever criminally charged, facing 88 criminal charges.
But he could face temporary incarceration before any conviction, if he again violates a gag order in his New York trial on 34 charges concerning hush-money payments made as a form of election interference.
The former president has been repeatedly fined by the judge in the case, Juan Merchan, for social media outbursts.
After holding Trump in contempt and fining him $1,000 for the 10th time, Merchan on Monday warned Trump the next step could be jail time.
“Mr Trump,” Merchan said, “as you know the prosecution has filed three separate motions to find you in criminal contempt. It appears that the $1,000 fines are not a deterrent.
“The last thing I want to do is put you in jail. You are the former president of the United States and possibly the next president as well … but at the end of the day, I have a job to do and part of that job is to protect the dignity of the judicial system.”
Merchan also said that Trump’s actions “constitute a direct attack on the rule of law” and he, the judge, “cannot allow that to continue”.
“So as much as I do not want to impose a jail sanction,” Merchan said, “I want you to understand that I will, if necessary and appropriate.”
No doubt sensing a potential political and fundraising coup, Trump said he was willing to be incarcerated.
“This judge has given me a gag order and said you’ll go to jail if you violate it,” Trump told reporters on Monday. “And frankly, you know what, our constitution is much more important than jail. It’s not even close. I’ll do that sacrifice any day.”
Adams spoke on Tuesday, during a media availability at city hall in New York.
Asked if Rikers was prepared to welcome Trump, he said: “Our amazing commissioner” – Lynelle Maginley-Liddie – “she is prepared for whatever comes on Rikers Island and I’m pretty sure she would be prepared to manage and deal with the situation. As you see what’s happening with Harvey Weinstein, we have to adjust.”
Weinstein, the disgraced film mogul awaiting retrial on rape charges, is being held at Rikers, having formerly been in an upstate prison and having spent time in a hospital prison unit.
Adams said: “You know, in this business, particularly around law enforcement, we have to adjust whatever comes our way, but you know, we don’t want to deal with a hypothetical.
“But they’re professionals. They’ll be ready” for Trump.
