After arraignment, warns “If you go after me, I’m coming after you!” prompting protective-order request

One day after pleading not guilty in the election-obstruction case, Trump blasted out an all-caps Truth Social threat — “IF YOU GO AFTER ME, I’M COMING AFTER YOU!” — leading special counsel Jack Smith to ask Judge Tanya Chutkan for a protective order limiting what he could do with discovery materials. Prosecutors told the court that Trump’s habit of targeting ‘witnesses, judges, attorneys, and others’ risked chilling testimony and undermining the administration of justice.

"IF YOU GO AFTER ME, I’M COMING AFTER YOU!" — Truth Social post cited in DOJ motion for protective order, Aug. 4, 2023