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Federal Judges Condemn Surge in Threats Over Trump-Related Rulings

At a rare virtual forum judges detailed over 400 threatening calls, unsolicited pizza deliveries and swatting incidents, calling for political leaders to curb hostile rhetoric

Overview

  • Judges Jack McConnell, John Coughenour and others broke judicial silence in a Speak Up for Justice webinar to denounce coordinated harassment campaigns.
  • McConnell reported receiving more than 400 “vile, threatening” voicemails since blocking the administration’s federal aid freeze, including explicit calls for his assassination.
  • Coughenour recounted a swatting attack that brought armed officers to his home after he halted President Trump’s birthright citizenship order.
  • Judge Esther Salas said U.S. Marshals have tracked over 100 unsolicited pizza deliveries sent to judges’ homes in her late son Daniel Anderl’s name as a doxxing tactic.
  • Participants urged the Department of Justice and U.S. Marshals Service to bolster security measures and called on political figures to stop incendiary rhetoric that endangers judicial independence.