Rikers Island ‘prepared’ for Trump if former president jailed, insists New York mayor

Rikers Island jail is “prepared to deal with the situation”, should Donald Trump be given prison time over continued violations of his gag order, the New York City mayor has insisted.

Eric Adams was quizzed about the unprecedented situation on Tuesday, but told reporters that the prison would “adjust to whatever comes our way”.

The former president has been threatened with time behind bars multiple times by presiding judge Juan Merchan, as his historic criminal hush money trial in Manhattan continues in its third week of testimony.

Mr Trump has already been fined a total of $10,000 for violating a gag order that prohibited him from attacking key witnesses in the trial on his social media platform, Truth Social.

On Monday, Justice Merchan warned Mr Trump that jail remains “truly a last resort” that would disrupt the proceedings, court staff and law enforcement. “The magnitude of such a decision is not lost on me,” the judge said.

“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 justice system,” he said. “Your continued violations… threaten to interfere with the administration of justice, and constitute a direct attack on the rule of law.”

Mayor Adams was asked about the possibility of having the former president put behind bars at a press conference on Tuesday.

"Our amazing commissioner… is prepared for whatever comes on Rikers Island," Mr Adams said. "I’m pretty sure [the Department of Corrections commissioner] would be prepared to manage and deal with the situation.”

It comes as disgraced movie mogul Harvey Weinstein was transferred back to Rikers on Monday following a short stay at a New York hospital for medical treatment. The City reported that he was returned to the jail after corrections officials learned that he had been allowed to stay in a private room and received “special treatment” during his stay.

Weinstein, 72, received amenities that other inmates never receive during a medical stay at Bellevue Hospital, such as phone use, a private bathroom, and access to a television, the outlet reported.

At Tuesday’s media conference, Mayor Adams continued: “As you see what’s happening with Harvey Weinstein, we have to just you know, in this business, particularly around law enforcement, we have to adjust whatever comes our way.

"We don’t want to deal with a hypothetical, but they’re professionals that will be ready."

At trial on Tuesday, the court heard from adult film actress Stormy Daniels – a key witness in the historic trial.