This keeps coming up in other threads, but I don’t want to carry them onto hijacks. With Trump’s various legal issues, the possibility exists that, at some point, he might find himself locked up in jail and/or prison. It’s often claimed that this would be problematic due to his Secret Service protection. But why? They just have to keep him safe. They don’t have to keep him free. And it’s a lot easier to keep someone safe in a jail or prison than in, say, a hotel room. I mean, sure, there are arrangements that would have to be made with the prison guards, but those arrangements would be no more difficult than all of the other arrangements the Secret Service makes with other agencies, all the time, as a routine part of their jobs. Why do so many people keep on insisting that this would be any significant difficulty whatsoever?
It seems pretty straightforward to me. Lock him up and let the SS post guards.
Related threads:
I know I copped this directly from the Secret Service website, but it was a while back. I can get the cite if any are interested:
Under the direction of the Secretary of Homeland Security, the United States Secret Service is authorized to protect former Presidents and their spouses for their lifetimes…
So, the Secretary of Homeland Security could simply terminate Trump’s Secret Service protection.
[That’s Alejandro Mayorkas, incidentally. How much love do you think he has for Trump and the MAGA Republicans?]
There. Problem solved.
ETA: Found a highly credible SOURCE
(Carrying my thoughts from the other thread over to here)
I get the impression that when CNN’s Ellie Hoenig and others have said (paraphrased) that “Merchan won’t jail Trump for gag order violations”, they mean that they simply can’t fathom it happening. I think if they were pressed to explain what formed that opinion, they’d be able to offer something … but struggle to come up with something truly airtight.
Posters in the other thread and in the OP here have come up with reasonable and plausible explanations for a general reticence to jail Trump for gag order violations: PITA Secret Service/jailing logistics. Avoiding certain avenues of appeal. Political considerations such as martyrdom. And so on.
Logistically I’m sure the Secret Service could handle it just fine. But what if they say no? What if they let the judge know ahead of time that they will actively resist any attempt to take Trump into custody?
What if the judge doesn’t even want to broach the subject because if they say ‘no,’ he really has no immediate recourse.
Personally, I think a lot of it originates with a narrative that The Right wishes to promulgate through their news sources. It gets into the national conversation and before you know it, it becomes conventional wisdom. They do this all the time with great effectiveness.
IMHO, there are legitimate reasons for the judges to proceed with caution and restraint. In the case of Judge Merchan, the first is to avoid giving Trump an avenue to delay this last remaining trial by way of appeals on the lawfulness of his custody. I don’t know how far Trump could take those appeals, but he can certainly build delay into the process. I think Judge Merchan wishes to avoid this at all costs.
The second is to avoid inflaming Trump’s supporters by giving them a reason to martyr him. I believe this is Trump’s actual goal in violating the gag orders so flagrantly. He is daring the judge to do something that will enrage his supporters. In short, it’s a campaign tactic.
The third is to build a record that is ironclad on appeal should the remedy of custody become inevitable. To be able to point to all the other attempted remedies that failed. I believe the general rule is that a judge should impose the least restrictive custody necessary to accomplish the goals of the court, whether to ensure that a defendant attends his proceedings or to get them to shut up if they are violating the court’s orders. The judge must demonstrate in the record that efforts were gradually more harsh yet proved ineffective up to the point of incarceration.
I am positive that the logistics of actually imposing incarceration of Trump along with his Secret Service detail is the least of any judge’s concerns. They do deal with challenging situations frequently.
Oh, sure, there are other reasons why a judge might not want to lock Trump up. I disagree with them, but those reasons exist.
The logistics of Secret Service protection, however, I don’t think is even on that list at all.
He could hold them in contempt. I doubt that they are supposed to break the law in furtherance of their duties.
Send him to Gitmo and keep him in solitary confinement.
“Bailiff! Seize them!”
Pity the Secret Service agents assigned to guard him in the shower.
I don’t think that quote means what you think it does. The phrase “under the direction of” does not mean “at the discretion of”. If it were the latter, then the Secretary could terminate protection. Because it’s the former, the Secretary cannot terminate the protection, but instead directs the Secret Service on how to provide the protection.
But protection doesn’t have to mean close physical presence; the Secretary could direct the Secret Service to protect Trump by monitoring his incarceration.
Or he could say, “Johnnie New Hire” is now the sole agent assigned to former President Trump’s detail.
I’m reminded of an administration that basically said, “Let’s interpret it in the way most favorable to us, and then let the courts sort it out if necessary.”
I obviously understand the point you’re making, but I’m not 100% positive it’s black and white, nor do I know if it’s been tested.
Generally, in law, there’s a substantive difference between “may” and “shall.” Authorizing the SecHHS to do something, arguably, doesn’t compell him/her to do that thing.
So … what if we … didn’t? 
I think it’s critical that the Secret Service be able to prevent any physical injury to Trump.
Let him sit, bored and uncomfortable, in a sticky smelly cell with no internet access. Whether it’s a weekend lockup for contempt of court, or a decade for a criminal conviction.
But don’t let him be a martyr because competent Secret Service protection was withdrawn.
Are there secret service agents in the New York courthouse during Donald’s trial? Where do they sit?
(If they aren’t next to donald, it might be because they have deferred to the bailiffs, who are usually in charge of the courtroom security. And that might be analogous to the deference they’d give the department of corrections, should donald be imprisoned)
We cannot be held hostage by fears of what Trump supporters might do. They’re going to be unhappy, some of them will make threats, and fewer still will follow through but I think we just have to accept that reality. I don’t expect Merchan to jail Trump at his upcoming gag order hearing, but I expect him to lay down the law and warn Trump that further violations will result in incarceration.
I don’t believe for one second Trump wants to be jailed. He can barely stand to be in court where he has little control over what he can do or where he can go. He’ll have even less control in jail.
I agree with this, and I suspect Judge Merchan does, too. But he wants to make absolutely sure that he’s got a solid record of efforts already made to try and shut Trump up. The hope being that at least some Trump supporters would decide that yes, maybe Trump did go too far in goading the judge and deserved what he got.
I’m just saying that no judge is going to take this step lightly.
the court house does have very disgusting holding areas, i’m sure they could do something with that. could just be an over night thing.