Threats Against Judges’ Families Are Undermining Trust and Confidence in the US Judicial System

Federal judges have said that the rise in threats against their families has begun to take a significant toll on the judiciary, raising concerns about the long-term impact on public trust in the legal system.

The threats have not intimidated judges into abandoning the law, said US Circuit Judge Nancy Abudu during a judicial security panel on Friday at the annual convention of the American Constitution Society.

However, she said threats directed at judges’ families, friends and clerks are steadily eroding confidence in the judicial system, both within the profession and among the public.

“If the real goal is a long-term strategy to erode the trust and the integrity of the judicial system by discouraging people from entering into this particular part of our profession, the answer unfortunately is it’s getting close to doing just that,” Judge Abudu said.

The United States Marshals Service recorded 564 threats against federal judges in 2025, according to US District Judge Beth Bloom. She said more than 340 such incidents have already been reported this year.

Judge Bloom pointed to US District Judge John C. Coughenour, whose home was “swatted” last year after he blocked the enforcement of an executive order issued by Donald Trump. A bomb threat followed the next day.

In another alarming trend, hundreds of pizzas were sent last year to the homes of judges and their family members — a chilling signal that the senders knew their residential addresses. Many of the deliveries were made in the name of Daniel Anderl, the son of US District Judge Esther Salas, who was shot and killed in 2020 as part of an assassination plot targeting his mother.

US Supreme Court Justice Amy Coney Barrett said last year that members of her family had received similar pizza deliveries. Her home was also the target of an attempted swatting call last month.

Judge Bloom said that in her 32 years on the bench — including two decades as a state judge — she had never witnessed the level of hostility or the frequency of violent threats now directed at judges.

“Now it’s not just the judges, it’s their families,” she said.

The Daniel Anderl Judicial Security and Privacy Act, enacted in 2022, allows federal judges to redact personal information from government websites and prohibits commercial data brokers from selling or sharing it.

US Circuit Judge Embry Kidd said the law was an important step forward, but urged Congress to provide stronger funding for judicial protection.

Security for federal judges is largely handled by the United States Marshals Service, which earlier this year requested an additional $34 million in funding to meet the growing demand for protective details for government officials.

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