Federal Judges Got Over 500 Threats Since October, Marshals Say

More than 500 threats were made against federal judges over the past eleven months in an uptick from last year, according to recently posted US Marshals Service data.

The Marshals Service, the Justice Department agency tasked with protecting the federal judiciary, logged 513 threats against 364 federal judges from October through Sept. 2. That surpasses the total number of threats against judges logged last fiscal year with still another month to go, according to the data.

The agency reported 509 threats against 379 individual judges last fiscal year, which spanned from October 2023 through September 2024.

Still, the threat data is, so far, below the number of threats lodged against federal judges in fiscal 2023, when the agency recorded over 600 threats against more than 450 judges.

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

Judges have also reported receiving unsolicited pizzas to their personal residences, including some in the name of the murdered son of a New Jersey federal judge.

Top judiciary officials have asked Congress for more funding to shore up security for judges, and House Republicans this summer proposed increasing funding for judicial security next fiscal year by more than 18%, matching the judiciary’s request.

If enacted, the budget would represent the first significant increase in the judiciary’s court security budget after several conservative years at the same level, an effective cut given inflation.

The Justice Department said in its own funding request to Congress in June that threats to federal judges have “doubled over historic norms” and that the “intensity” of threatening electronic communications to them have increased. Judicial security remains the Marshals Services “top priority,” the request said.

Judge Richard Sullivan, who chairs the Judicial Conference’s committee focused on security, said at a conference in Memphis this month that the judiciary has not had enough funds for “pretty basic stuff,” including barriers, cameras and screening equipment.