Hundreds of US Judges Received Over 400 Threats Since October

There have been more than 400 threats to federal judges since October, surpassing the number of threats to judges in all of fiscal 2022 with over three months still left in this fiscal year.

Those 408 threats have been made against 297 judges this fiscal year, said Judge Esther Salas of the US District Court for the District of New Jersey, who spoke about the increase at a virtual event Thursday and shared threat data, as of June 16, with Bloomberg Law.

The figure represents an uptick from one month ago, when the US Marshals Service had logged 373 threats against 277 judges from October through late May.

“We’re going to break records, people, and not in a good way,” Salas said at the event.

Salas made the remarks at a “Speak Up For Justice” event, designed to raise awareness about threats to judges. She has spearheaded judicial security efforts since the murder of her son at their home by a disgruntled attorney in 2020.

The event featured remarks by retired Supreme Court Justice Anthony Kennedy, who called to strengthen democracy and for civil discourse to be “dignified,” “decent,” and “characterized by civility.”

Kennedy, who retired from the bench in 2018, also raised concerns that political partisanship “plays too big a part” in the process in the Senate to confirm judges.

“Congress must focus much more on temperament, learning, background, experience. Not just politics,” Kennedy said.

The increasing threats comes as President Donald Trump and his allies have bashed judges on social media for rulings against the administration’s policies. In a TruthSocial post in May, Trump referred to judges as “USA hating” and “monsters.”

Unsolicited pizzas have also been sent to the homes of federal judges and their family members—interpreted as a threat that the sender knows where they live—including over a dozen sent in the name of Salas’ murdered son.

Top judiciary officials have asked Congress for more funding to shore up security, including a 19% increase in funding for court security measures.