A recent twist of events, former President Donald Trump is once again making headlines for mistakenly identifying a figure linked to the judge overseeing his civil fraud trial in New York City.
Trump targeted court reporter Ben Kochman, wrongly labeling him as the judge’s son, sparking increased tensions around the already high-profile case. The confusion arose from a post shared on Trump’s Truth Social account, originally from far-right activist Laura Loomer, suggesting Kochman had financial gains tied to the trial.
Kochman, setting the record straight in the New York Post, clarified his lack of familial ties to Judge Arthur Engoron, debunking the claims of preferential treatment in the courtroom.
This incident raises concerns about the reliability of information circulating on social media, particularly as Loomer’s baseless conclusions were drawn from a shared physical characteristic—a beard.
This is not the first time Loomer has misidentified individuals; a similar incident occurred last month during a courthouse protest.
Trump’s amplification of the misidentification continued with previously debunked claims about Judge Engoron’s wife, Dawn Engoron. Allegations of anti-Trump social media posts, sourced from a deleted account attributed to Dawn Marie, were propagated by Loomer. However, Engoron’s wife and a spokesperson from New York’s Office of Court Administration denied these allegations.
This comes amid a gag order on Trump for spreading false accusations about trial participants. In October, Trump falsely accused one of Judge Engoron’s staffers of a romantic relationship with Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, resulting in threats and fines for the former president.
Despite a recent loss in attempting to appeal the gag order, Trump persists in using social media to share unverified and misleading information, with real-world consequences for the judge, his clerk, and courthouse staff facing threats and abuse.
