US judges say their jobs are getting more dangerous under Trump

US judges are worried for their safety — and their independence In returning Donald Trump to the White House, MAGA faithful wanted to see change. The president-elect was keen to oblige. "Starting tomorrow, I will act with historic speed and strength and fix every single crisis facing our country," Mr Trump said the day before his inauguration. As it turned out, many policies laid out in pursuit of that order faced legal challenges, with more than 850 lawsuits reportedly filed against the second Trump administration. And for the judges presiding over these cases, some say it has made their jobs more dangerous. Safe rooms and unsolicited pizzas After hearing a case related to the Trump administration's immigration crackdown, a federal judge said they received more than 700 threatening phone calls, which led to their child's school ramping up active shooter training. When their home's floor plan was shared online, they built a safe room and drilled their family on how they would respond to an intruder. "For a long time, we didn't allow our child to play outside,"the judge said. That's not an isolated feeling, either. Threats to federal judges have escalated to unprecedented levels under Mr Trump's second term, according to a new report based on interviews with 35 sitting and retired jurists appointed by Democratic and Republican presidents as far back as Ronald Reagan. While threats against the judiciary are not new, every sitting and retired judge interviewed for the report by the Brennan Center for Justice, a nonpartisan law and policy institute, said the dangers were more serious today than in the past. The US Marshals Service (USMS), the agency responsible for federal judges' security, recorded a 57 per cent increase in security incidents of significant concern in the 2025 fiscal year. The agency forecasts the number is on pace to rise again in the 2026 fiscal year, but declined to provide the raw figures when contacted by the ABC. Similarly, USMS figures show threats recorded during protective investigations — a separate metric — increased by 10 per cent during the 2025 fiscal year. Nearly all 17 judges currently serving told the Brennan Center they were concerned about the safety of their family members. "We sign up for this. We are public servants," Judge Beth Bloom of the Southern District of Florida said during an interview for the report. "But our children don't sign up for this." An article published by Reuters in 2025 documented how an emerging pattern of "pizza doxxing" exploited this fear to maximise intimidation. The practice sees antagonists have unsolicited pizzas delivered to judges' homes to signal that their addresses are known, and that they are being watched. Often, the deliveries arrive in the name of Daniel Anderl, who was fatally gunned down by someone attempting to assassinate his mother, New Jersey District Judge Esther Salas. Some judges also described paying out of pocket for additional security for their families. "You stop doing things," said one district judge who lived with round-the-clock federal law enforcement protection for several months. "I enjoy grocery shopping, and I stopped doing it during this time because we had to have a marshal go in and check it … It wasn't worth it." Why judges think threats are increasing While the causes of the heightened threat environment were complex, the judges repeatedly identified three key factors that contributed to the issue. They cited the political climate, echoing comments by then-USMS director Ronald Davis in 2024. "In the past, judges mostly faced threats from people who were upset about a judge's decision in their own cases," he said, but many more were now coming from "people enraged because of politics". High-profile cases Read moreThe majority of sitting judges interviewed for the report pointed to the rapid increase in contentious cases that have attracted significant public attention. That included litigation that emerged in response to the January 6 US Capitol attack and challenges to Trump administration policies. Several interviewees, including six sitting judges, said the intensity of threats had coincided with an increase of cases challenging Trump administration policies and assertions of executive power. More than 150 of the 881 court cases brought against the administration have at least partially halted those policies. A federal judge noted the Trump administration "really cares" about immigration cases. "It's discussed as if the fate of the world hangs on it. Whether it does or not, it's what the perception is." Political rhetoric Read moreThe majority of judges discussed the increasingly common trend of politicians and political commentators mounting personal attacks against judges who made rulings they disliked. They specifically referenced remarks made by Mr Trump, members of Congress and prominent figures such as Stephen Miller and Elon Musk, in which they accused judges of bias, and in some cases, called for their impeachment. While some judges noted that Democratic politicians, such as Chuck Schumer in 2020, had also engaged in this behaviour in the past, the observation came with the caveat that the climate had shifted substantially particularly since Mr Trump returned to the Oval Office. One district judge recalled being accused of bias by the president and his allies after ruling against the administration in one case. He reported receiving "countless pieces of hate mail and calls to chambers", requiring four months of full-time security detail at home. "According to the judge, his wife also received intimidating calls on her cell phone late at night, and anonymous pizza deliveries were sent to his children's and siblings' homes," the report's authors wrote. District Judge John Coughenour, a Reagan appointee, described a similar experience in 2025, after he blocked an executive order on birthright citizenship. "I have never experienced an executive branch so overtly hostile to the federal judiciary — top or bottom," Judge William G Young, who has spent more than 40 years in judicial service, said. "Never have I experienced or seen anything like this — never — including [from] this president's prior administration." Social media and doxxing Read moreMany of the judges interviewed said social media platforms and data brokers have given antagonists access to personally identifiable information and platforms from which to make threats. "Members of Congress and leaders of executive branch agencies are increasingly using social media to communicate with the public," a sitting judge explained. "This can then lead to a Twitter chain in which sharp criticism morphs into threats and other inappropriate communications." The report points to a February 2025 instance where, in social media posts, Mr Musk accused District Judge John Bates of corruption after he ordered the Trump administration to restore public health websites it had taken down due of references to transgender issues. Responses included an image of a noose and calls for Mr Bates to face "capital punishment". More than two dozen judges interviewed, including nearly all sitting judges, said doxxing, in which someone's personal information is shared online, had become a frightening factor of online discourse. Two sitting judges described having their personal information posted online, including one instance in which the judge's child's information was exposed. Three described experiencing pizza doxxing incidents targeting their home, or those of family members, while another had letters delivered to their home. Threatening independence Persistent threats and harassment risk undermining the independence of the judicial system, the report said. When asked if specific types of cases were more of a risk, the majority of sitting judges interviewed pointed to cases involving the Trump administration, given the intense public attention and political polarisation. "People are aware the administration is going to use whatever potential tools [it] can to come down on judges and try to whip judges into line," a sitting district judge said. "I think the president is trying to stress test the judiciary," a retired judge said. "He's trying to see how far he can go in asserting his power." Some jurists referenced the arrest and federal prosecution of Judge Hannah Dugan, who was found guilty in December of obstructing an immigration arrest outside her courtroom, and later sentenced to pay a $5,000 fine. A sitting appellate judge said the arrest was an example of the Trump administration weaponising federal law enforcement against judges. Another district judge acknowledged they had felt pressure to make rulings in a certain direction. "I've wished cases weren't mine … It would be so much easier to write decisions the way the vocal group likes — but why be on the bench at that point?"the judge said. While nearly every interviewee was confident that threats had not influenced any rulings, many were worried judges would not be willing to accept associated risks in the future. "It never occurred to me that this was something we'd be facing," a sitting judge who chose to remain anonymous said. "If this gets too bad, I'm going to stop." A retired judge said the increasing incidents reinforced their decision to retire, adding: "I don't want to live that way." Some jurists noted this particularly risked exacerbating under-representation of judges with diverse identities, who they observed were subject to more harassment. "I have been talking to women and Black judges … I think the vitriol and intensity is much greater for them than white male judges," a male jurist said. While the USMS does not publish demographic information about the judges who receive threats, data on state and local elected officials shows women and people of colour experience more targeted abuse than their male and white counterparts. 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