Former President Donald Trump launched an attack on special counsel Jack Smith, referring to him as a “deranged” prosecutor. Smith has led two federal investigations into Trump, resulting in criminal indictments. Trump, who is currently the frontrunner for the Republican nomination in the 2024 presidential race, accused Smith of attempting to restrict his First Amendment rights.

Speaking at a conference of a conservative Christian women’s organization in Washington, D.C., Trump claimed that Smith wants to silence him and take away his freedom of speech. This latest criticism came shortly after Smith requested a partial gag order in the D.C. election case against Trump. The case accuses Trump of multiple conspiracies to overturn his loss to President Joe Biden in the 2020 election.

Smith filed a court motion requesting a limited restriction on certain prejudicial extrajudicial statements made by Trump. These statements would include any remarks about the identity, testimony, or credibility of potential witnesses, as well as disparaging or inflammatory comments directed at parties, witnesses, attorneys, court personnel, or potential jurors.

Smith argued that Trump’s repeated attacks on the court, prosecutors, witnesses, and the citizens of D.C. could undermine the integrity of the proceedings and prejudice the jury pool. The motion cited social media posts from Trump’s Truth Social account, in which he criticized Judge Tanya Chutkan, the prosecutors, and the city of D.C. Additionally, Trump was accused of spreading knowingly false accusations against a prosecutor involved in his other federal criminal case in Florida.

Trump addressed the D.C. crowd, proclaiming that they want to silence him because he refuses to let them silence the American people. However, the judge has yet to make a decision on Smith’s request, which, if granted, could limit Trump’s ability to disparage the special counsel.

Trump’s recent speech was the first of two scheduled appearances in Washington, D.C. He spoke at the Concerned Women for America Legislative Action Committee, starting about 40 minutes behind schedule. This delay could potentially affect his second appearance at the annual summit of the Family Research Council, another religious conservative group.

This visit marked Trump’s return to the nation’s capital since his earlier appearance at the E. Barrett Prettyman U.S. Courthouse, where he pleaded not guilty in the federal election case.