While Former President Donald Trump has frequently taken verbal shots at the judge presiding over his New York civil fraud trial, a recent court ruling may force him to dial back his rhetoric.

In a major reversal, an appeals court moved this week to reinstate a gag order that was imposed on the former president. 

Threats sent to court clerk

According to CNN, that decision came on Thursday after hundreds of threats leveled against Judge Arthur Engoron and his law clerk were made public.

New York appeals court reinstates gag order against Donald Trump in civil fraud trial https://t.co/PgbtQ8dGOR

— Jim Acosta (@Acosta) November 30, 2023

The clerk is reported to have received an average of 20 to 30 calls each day on her personal cell phone along with between 30 and 50 messages daily on her social media accounts and personal email addresses.

"Now, upon reading and filing the papers with respect to the motion, and due deliberation having been had thereon, It is ordered that the motion is denied; the interim relief granted by order of a Justice of this Court, dated November 16, 2023, is hereby vacated," the court's ruling read.

Trump fined and threatened with jail time over gag order violations

While Engoron had initially imposed the gag order in early October, Fox News reported that it was lifted earlier this month amid questions over its constitutionality.

The network recalled that Engoron at one point fined Trump $10,000 over comments that he made to reporters at a press conference.

That move came just days after Engoron imposed a $5,000 fine and threatened the former president with jail time over a separate alleged gag order violation involving a social media post.

NBC News reported that the judge became "livid" after it emerged that a post Trump had deleted from Truth Social continued to be visible on his campaign website.

"Last night I learned the offending post was never removed from a website. This is a blatant violation of the gag order. I made it clear [that] failure to comply will result in serious sanctions," Engoron was quoted as saying.

Trump attorney calls decision "a tragic day for the rule of law"

CNN noted how Engoron took a moment during a break in Thursday's court proceedings to announce that the gag order had been reinstated.

"I intend to enforce the gag orders rigorously and vigorously. I want to make sure that counsel informs their clients of the fact that the stay was vacated," the network quoted him as saying.

When Trump attorney Chris Kise called the development "a tragic day for the rule of law," Engoron responded by saying, "It is what it is."