Judges: Threatened for ruling against Trump

United States District Court Judge Esther Salas at a news conference in Newark

Judge Esther Salas said threats against judges would drop if political leaders "stopped fanning these flames."

(Image credit: Kyle Mazza / Sipa USA / Reuters)

Have you ever written words you thought might get you or "someone you love killed?" asked David French in The New York Times. That's the terrifying reality now faced by federal judges across the country. Threats against jurists have rocketed since President Trump took office, with 162 receiving threats in the six-week period from March 1—more than double the number in the preceding five months. At a recent panel event, five of those judges spoke of the relentless intimidation and harassment they've endured. Judge Jack McConnell, who in March blocked the administration's initial attempt to freeze federal funding, said he'd received six credible threats on his life. Judge John Coughenour, who ruled against the president's birthright citizenship order, was swatted after making that decision. And Judge Esther Salas, whose son was shot dead by a disgruntled lawyer in 2020, recounted how people were now sending pizzas to judges' homes "in the name of Daniel, her murdered son." The message of those deliveries is clear: "We know where you live."

Judges have also faced threats from extremists on the Left, said Tatyana Tandanpolie in Salon. In 2022, a man armed with a gun, a knife, and other weapons was arrested outside the home of Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh. But Salas emphasized that this year's threats were different because the "irresponsible rhetoric" was coming "from the top down," with President Trump calling judges "monsters," "deranged," and "USA hating." Salas said threats against judges would drop if political leaders "stopped fanning these flames." It'd be nice if "the president would turn down the heat," said Austin Sarat and Steve Kramer in The Contrarian. "But calls for civility will not do the job." We need state legislatures and Congress to provide judges with more security and to better monitor threats against them. If we don't, judges might stop ruling without fear or favor and start considering "what could happen to them should they make a decision that some individual or group dislikes."

That's exactly what Trump wants, said Jonathan V. Last in The Bulwark. The judiciary is one of the only remaining institutions capable of stopping his "authoritarian push," and that's why the president won't lift a finger to stop MAGA loyalists "threatening violence against judges and their families." Perhaps those threats are just noise in our chaotic democracy, and not signs of anything more ominous. But "if you're standing on a beach and the water starts going out while birds and animals head inland, maybe there's something coming."