The United States Supreme Court’s head issued a warning. A warning suggesting that the safety of judges is being compromised by the hostile rhetoric of politicians and the menacing “threats of violence and murder.”
Though Chief Justice John Roberts abstained from directly naming individuals, his unusual public admonition comes in the wake of persistent verbal onslaughts led by President Donald Trump against courts that have thwarted some of his more disputed policies.
According to reliable sources, at a judicial conference in North Carolina last Saturday, Roberts advised caution against those “expressing a high degree of hostility to the court” or to judges who may be perceived as “part of the problem” during highly charged political disagreements.
“The danger, of course, is somebody might pick up on that, and we have had, of course, serious threats of violence and murder of judges just simply for doing their work,” Roberts articulated to the conference. He underscored the need for political figures from both parties to bear this in mind, denying any association of the threats with either Republicans or Democrats.
This development follows earlier reports that, since his return to the White House in January, Trump has unleashed vehement attacks on federal judges who have opposed his executive orders or obstructed his endeavors on migrant deportation or the reduction of the federal workforce.
We should note that the administration has escalated its severe censure of judges. In April, a Milwaukee judge, Hannah Dugan, was arrested by the FBI for attempting to aid an individual in evading Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents.
The evidence suggests that the White House has been implicated in defying certain court orders it disagrees with, allegations the administration refutes. Amid numerous impasses between the Trump White House and federal courts, the president and some Republican legislators have advocated for the impeachment of judges who have temporarily stalled Trump’s orders to reduce government expenditure or increase deportations.
Reports indicate a rise in violence and threats against judges in the United States in recent years. A man in 2022 was apprehended for threatening to kill Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh, while in 2023, a Maryland judge was murdered, and a Kentucky judge was shot and killed in his courthouse in 2024.
As Roberts stated, people across the political spectrum should be wary of these hazards. “Threatening the judges for doing their job is unacceptable,” he declared.
Back in March, Roberts sparred extraordinarily with the executive branch when he excoriated Trump for seeking the impeachment of US District Judge James Boasberg, who had issued an order preventing deportation flights that Trump was executing. Trump had decried Boasberg as a “Radical Left Lunatic.”
This raises important questions about the safety of our judiciary and the implications of political rhetoric. As we seek answers and keep you informed, let us remember the importance of the truth and the democratic institutions and processes that uphold it.
