Death threats against judges are surging —and experts point directly to Trump's rhetoric

Federal judges have received more than 800 threats since Trump's rhetoric intensified — and retired members of the judiciary are now speaking out.

“According to the U.S. Marshals Service, there were 564 threats against federal judges in 2025 and there have been 275 already this year,” wrote USA Today’s Rex Huppke on Sunday. “The Marshals Service asked Congress for an additional $34 million in April, noting that ‘the threat environment’ is ‘unlikely to decrease in the foreseeable future.’”

Huppke attended a two-day symposium at the University of Washington called “Neither Sword Nor Purse,” which was convened to discuss Trump’s ongoing rhetoric attacking judges who do not rule in his favor. Describing him as “a threat to judicial independence,” one who “shows no hesitation to jackhammer the very foundation of our democracy.”

Former federal judge J. Michael Luttig told the event that Trump’s coup attempt on Jan. 6, 2021 “was a dark day in American history. On that day, the 45th president of the United States instigated a war on America's democracy, and forced upon this nation an unpeaceful transfer of power for the first time in almost 250 years. From that day until this day, he has persisted in the prosecution of that war, determined to prosecute that war to its catastrophic end, to this day presenting himself to America and to the world as a clear and present danger to American democracy.”

Elaborating on Luttig’s argument, Huppke opined that “the basic idea of the rule of law is that people, institutions and entities are held accountable to laws that are: publicly promulgated; equally enforced; independently adjudicated; and consistent with international human rights principles. When a president starts eroding that by not following court orders or denouncing any form of justice that doesn’t align with his desires, all of us are at risk of not being treated fairly under the law.”

He added, “Like many regular voters, I watch this kind of anti-democratic, unhinged behavior and worry about the country, wondering if there are any powerful people working behind the scenes to keep democracy intact.”

When former federal judge Robert Harlan Henry argued that “we’ve got to learn to love each other,” another judge argued that “that is a great idea that will never work. I would be satisfied if we would follow the law.”

“The law. The law, we can follow the law,” Henry agreed. “We can make everyone susceptible to the rule of law, the government primarily. Just like the government should be the model employer, the government should be the model follower of the rule of law. And somewhere along this way, I think we’re going to find that an independent judiciary is going to be essential to have this rule of law.”

The assembled judges also called for their members to show bravery in the face of Trump’s threats.

“There's a tremendous need for courage right now,” Erwin Chemerinsky, dean of the University of California, Berkeley, School of Law, explained. “We've seen some of that over the last 15 months. I so admire the federal district court judges who have shown great courage in the rulings, even if faced with the death threats, the threats to their families that we've heard about,” Chemerinsky said. “On the other hand, we have also seen, at times, a stunning lack of courage.”

He added, “We all learned on the playground that if we give in to bullies, it only makes it worse, and that's what those who capitulated have done.”

In March, a forum organized by Speak Up for Justice brought four judges together who denounced Trump’s rhetorical violence since the 2020 election.

“Judges are traditionally cautious about speaking publicly,” U.S. District Court Judge Beth Bloom, from the Southern District of Florida, said in an interview. “But this moment makes a strong case for why engagement is not only appropriate, but is necessary.”

In February, America’s top association for lawyers similarly spoke out against Trump’s attacks on judges.

“The recent remarks by the president of the United States, leveling personal criticisms against members of the U.S. Supreme Court, are not acceptable and cross a dangerous line that threatens the safety of the judiciary and our judicial process,” American Bar Association (ABA) President Michelle A. Behnke said in a statement.

Behnke added, “Vigorous debate over policy is a strength of our democracy, but attacks that demean the judiciary are not. Incendiary rhetoric has helped contribute to the alarming increase in attacks on and threats to our judges. It must stop.”

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