Reporters covering former Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort’s trial were warned by the federal judge that they would be removed from the courtroom if they were responsible for a “disruption.”
“If you cause a disruption, I will have you excluded,” U.S. District Court Judge T.S. Ellis III said, per Fox News.
Reporters are not permitted to use their phones or laptops while in the courtroom. Several reporters darted from the courtroom on Monday when it was revealed that Manafort’s former business partner Rick Gates would testify, prompting Ellis’ comments.
Manafort is on trial in federal court in Virginia, and has been charged with bank and tax fraud. Gates testified that he and Manafort together committed crimes.
Although Manafort has pleaded not guilty to the charges, Gates arranged a plea deal earlier this year with prosecutors that he would comply with special counsel Robert Mueller’s ongoing Russia probe, which is investigating Russian interference in the 2016 election and whether the Trump campaign colluded with the Kremlin.
[Also read: Rick Gates tells court he engaged in crime spree with Paul Manafort and stole from him too]
