When the Supreme Court recently struck down President Trump’s tariffs, he lashed out at two Justices he had nominated, calling them fools and lapdogs. The president has frequently railed against judges when they rule against him. What often follows is a barrage of violent threats from his followers.
Reporters spoke with 26 federal judges—nine Democratic appointees and 17 Republican appointees, both sitting and retired. The sitting judges said they feel under siege; most refused to appear on camera for fear of their safety.
Judge John Coughenour, a Reagan appointee and federal district judge in Washington state, blocked President Trump’s effort to end birthright citizenship and was unprepared for the backlash. He described a hoax in which his wife was falsely reported murdered, leading to a SWAT-style visit from deputies with long guns, followed by a bomb threat and a “wanted” poster circulating with judges’ photos and a near-explicit call for harm. “Some of it was very, very ugly, and very threatening,” he said. “Death threats? Oh yes, yes dozens of ’em. Dozens if not hundreds.”
Coughenour, who has presided over cases including an al Qaeda bomber and militia members, said he has never encountered the current level of hostility in his 44-year career. He attributes it not to bad judicial decisions but to a political effort to tear down the federal judiciary. “If nobody is going to make that decision and nobody’s gonna enforce the Constitution it becomes like the Constitution of Russia,” he said, arguing judges’ role is to apply the Constitution.
Incendiary comments by President Trump—calling judges “lunatics” or “monsters” after adverse rulings—have coincided with a torrent of violent messages. Reporters obtained voicemail threats left after rulings, including calls wishing rape and decapitation on a judge’s family and direct calls for assassination. The U.S. Marshals Service, which assesses threats and provides protection, is overwhelmed. Last year, 400 federal judges were targets of serious threats—a 78% jump in four years.
Judge John Jones, a retired George W. Bush appointee from Pennsylvania, warned bluntly: “In very plain English: if we’re not careful we’re gonna get a judge killed.” Jones and 55 other retired judges formed a bipartisan group to lobby the White House to stop demonizing judges. He said the current White House is attempting to delegitimize the federal courts to expand presidential power, filling a vacuum left by a dormant Congress.
Judge Esther Salas, an Obama appointee in New Jersey and a prominent voice against attacks on the judiciary, said the stakes are personal and systemic. In 2020 a disgruntled litigant came to her home, murdered her son Daniel, and wounded her husband. Though that attack was not politically motivated, Salas said today’s rhetoric from national leaders makes similar horrors more likely. “I’m more concerned right now than I was after my only child was murdered,” she said. “This is coming from our national leader on down.”
Salas urged people to use the legal system if they disagree with rulings: appeal, don’t dehumanize judges. She described new forms of intimidation, including dozens of unsolicited pizzas sent to judges and their children with threatening messages and the name of her murdered son used on orders—an act she said weaponizes her child to frighten the judiciary. “They’re weaponizing Daniel’s name to inflict fear on judges,” she said.
The White House responded in a statement by noting President Trump’s own experiences as a survivor of assassination attempts and accusing the judiciary of “brazen defiance” with “unlawful rulings.” Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche described the situation internally as a war, saying some judges issue “overbroad and even unreasoned injunctions,” while also noting that “threats and intimidation of federal officials is unlawful.” The Justice Department declined on-camera interviews.
Judges emphasized the constitutional role of the courts as independent arbiters of what is constitutional. They warned that delegitimizing the judiciary undermines the rule of law. While threats have come from across the political spectrum—Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer once used the phrase “pay the price” about justices before apologizing—several interviewed judges said the extreme violent rhetoric and coordinated targeting seen in recent years is predominantly driven by the right.
Ron Zayas, CEO of Ironwall, a company that scrubs personal data from the web, said in 14 years he has never seen the volume or severity of violent threats now directed at judges. He and his team comb both the surface and dark web, and he described a shift from direct threats of killing to a broader strategy of influencing judicial behavior through intimidation and mob pressure. “If you broadcast that message to a million people, you just need one to act on it,” Zayas said.
The Marshals are investigating not only threats and doxxing but the wave of seemingly innocuous deliveries—pizzas, packages—sent to judges and their children as intimidation. At least 20 such pizzas were sent using the name of Judge Salas’s murdered son. Judges say such tactics are meant to terrify and to make them fear for their families.
Many judges called for political leaders to tone down rhetoric and for officials to more forcefully denounce intimidation. Judge Salas said she has yet to see the attorney general or deputy attorney general publicly condemn these forms of harassment in a way that addresses the judiciary’s safety concerns.
“I sit here as Daniel’s mom,” Salas said. “When I see that kind of irresponsible behavior coming from our political leaders and people in power, it makes me sad. It makes me very worried, because I worry for our democracy, I really do.”
Produced by Heather Abbott. Associate producer, Paulina Smolinski. Broadcast associate, Mariah Johnson. Edited by Sean Kelly.
