Near the close of the latest E. Jean Carroll v. Donald Trump trial, Trump’s lawyers were again reprimanded by Judge Lewis Kaplan for attempting to introduce evidence in closing that hadn’t been previously introduced during the proceedings.
Trump’s attorneys — Alina Habba and Michael Madaio — have been operating under restrictions preventing them from attempting to re-litigate the established verdict delivered by a previous jury that Trump assaulted and defamed Carroll.
In his most recent reprimand, Kaplan used a phrase — “lockup” — that is very familiar to Trump and MAGA adherents who embraced and often chanted a version of it in 2016 — as then-candidate Trump ran for president against Hillary Clinton. Kaplan, in an attempt to enforce the restrictions set before trial, threatened Habba: “You are on the verge of spending some time in the lockup.”
Judge Kaplan to Alina Habba: "You are on the verge of spending some time in the lockup. Now, sit down."
— erica orden (@eorden) January 26, 2024
This came after Madaio and Habba were arguing to include a slide showing tweets they hadn't entered as evidence.
No one in the courtroom responded by shouting “Lock her up,” as Trump rally-goers did throughout his first campaign. But on X, people swiftly posted the familiar phrase.
Lock her up
— Jhoff10 (@Jhoff10) January 26, 2024
Lock her up. Please.
— Susan West (@SweetsueW) January 26, 2024
Below is the Wall Street Journal reporting on what became Team Trump’s top meme during 2016, and which sustained its prominence as a MAGA rallying cry even after Clinton was no longer the opponent.
