Judges Report Increased Security Needs Due to Rising Threats

A total of 93 judges nationwide require enhanced security “simply for presiding over high profile cases,” the Ninth Circuit’s Judge Jacqueline Nguyen said Wednesday, lamenting the threats facing the judiciary.

Judges have always faced criticism, she said, addressing attorneys with the Federal Bar Association in Los Angeles, but the harassment lately has gotten very personal in nature in some instances, with judges’ families being targeted and some even receiving harassing package deliveries to their homes.

This figure is an increase from April 2025, when 67 judges required enhanced security measures, according to a Judicial Conference report. Top US judiciary ...