THE United States Justice Department has asked a federal judge overseeing the criminal case against former President Donald Trump in Washington to step in after he released a post online that appeared to promise revenge on anyone who goes after him.

The former president was given the chance to respond by 5pm on Monday to a request made by the government for the US District Judge Tanya Chutkan to issue a protective order concerning evidence in the case.

Mr Trump has pleaded not guilty to charges of trying to overturn his 2020 election loss and block the peaceful transition of power. 

The order, different from a “gag order,” would limit what information Mr Trump and his legal team could share publicly about the case brought by special counsel Jack Smith.

Protective orders are common in criminal cases, but prosecutors said it was “particularly important in this case” because Mr Trump has posted on social media about “witnesses, judges, attorneys, and others associated with legal matters pending against him.”

Prosecutors pointed specifically to a post on Trump’s Truth Social platform from earlier on Friday in which Mr Trump wrote, in all capital letters: “If you go after me, I’m coming after you!”