'Pure evil': Hush money trial proceedings spur MAGA meltdown

The rudiments of courtroom proceedings in former President Donald Trump's criminal trial spurred a MAGA meltdown Monday.

Donald Trump Jr. and Eric Trump both took to social media to condemn New York City Judge Juan Merchan for reminding his father that New York law mandates he appear in court every day of the trial.

"Pure evil," Trump Jr. declared, sharing a tweet from the notorious pizzagate conspiracy theorist Jack Posobiec.

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Posobiec felt the judge should have immediately allowed Trump to skip court on May 17 to attend his youngest son Barron's high school graduation. According to MSNBC's Katie Phang, Merchan said he could not rule on the issue "at this time," but would consider it.

Eric Trump also chimed in, writing, "Judge Merchan is truly heartless in not letting a father attend his son’s graduation."

Responded Reuters crime reporter Brad Heath, "For better or worse, this is a routine thing when people are accused of crimes. Lots of defendants miss lots of things -- kids' births, graduations, funerals, etc. -- because they are on trial or detained pending trial."

Merchan's reported willingness to reconsider the issue, and this reportedly common interpretation of the law, did not seem to register with the Trump sons' followers.

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"THEY ARE COMMUNISTS!" replied Nicholas Pagnotta. "We the people stand united behind Donald Trump!"

"Judge Merchan is doing the devils work!" added X user @WildBillNC1978.

"Merchan will go to prison!" wrote Michael Rizzuto.

Don Jr. and his brother were not the only Trump allies to raise the alarm over court proceedings Monday — his civil court trial lawyer Alina Habba gave an interview on her issues with jury selection.

"You're not allowed to ask who they voted for," Habba told podcast host Benny Johnson, the former Buzzfeed journalist fired over repeated plagiarism. "You're shot in the foot right there."

Merchan is allowing a slate of questions that pertain to political leanings, including queries about any organizations to which potential jurors belong or donate money, with specific mention of QAnon and Antifa.

Habba then complained Trump faced an unfair disadvantage in a predominantly blue state, which she argued would be "much easier" for the Manhattan District Attorney's office to stack the jury with those most likely to find Trump guilty.

"They're going to try to get the best jury pool they can," Habba warned.

Trump and Habba also raised the specter of political bias in the former president's civil fraud trial after Justice Arthur Engoron ruled the case would not go before a jury.

Once again, conservative social media was outraged.

"It's supposed to be a jury of your peers," wrote @AnaBredenberg, "not a stacked jury of your enemies."

"The telltale signs of judicial corruption often manifest when a judge consistently prioritizes personal interests or external influences over upholding the principles of justice and the rule of law," replied @Gene_SD.

Interestingly, @Gene_SD posted the same response when Laura Loomer reported Merchan would consider the law before allowing Trump to skip attendance for personal reasons.

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