Federal judges are reporting a dramatic increase in threats, harassment, and intimidation, with some taking extraordinary measures to protect themselves and their families. A report by the Brennan Center for Justice at New York University, a self-described nonpartisan law and policy institute that also engages in legal and policy advocacy, found these incidents have reached alarming levels.
The report was based on interviews with 35 sitting and retired federal judges whose appointments span every president since Jimmy Carter. One unidentified federal district judge described receiving more than 700 threatening phone calls and intense online harassment following a case involving the Trump administration’s immigration enforcement efforts.
After the floor plan of the judge’s home was posted online, the jurist spent substantial personal funds to build a safe room and fortify their residence. The judge also began altering travel routes and notified their child’s school to increase active-shooter training.
“I can’t leave my house at the same time or take the same routes,” the judge said. “When someone gets behind me, I just pull over and let them pass.”
The federal judiciary reported a 57% increase in “security incidents of significant concern” involving judges during fiscal year 2025, with similar trends expected for fiscal 2026. Supreme Court Justice Elena Kagan informed Congress in July that Supreme Court Police anticipate a 38% rise in threats against justices this year following a 25% increase in 2025.
Several judges interviewed by the Brennan Center noted that increasingly heated rhetoric from political leaders has contributed to the deteriorating threat environment. Senior U.S. District Judge William Young of Massachusetts stated, “In 40 years on the bench, I have never encountered an executive branch ‘so overtly hostile to the federal judiciary — top to bottom.’”
Young added: “What is new — what is genuinely new — is having the executive branch itself be overtly hostile to the federal judiciary,” citing “public disparagement of judges, baseless conclusions, and attacks that would have been unthinkable in prior administrations.”
The report also highlighted concerning remarks from Democrats. U.S. District Judge Esther Salas recalled Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., warning Supreme Court Justices Neil Gorsuch and Brett Kavanaugh at a 2020 abortion access rally that they had “released the whirlwind” and would “pay the price.” Schumer later retracted the remarks, stating they “did not come out the way I intended.” One retired judge interviewed for the report called Schumer’s comments “inappropriate.”
The Brennan Center recommended that Congress fully fund judicial security requests, strengthen protections for judges’ personal information, and establish a commission to examine whether responsibility for protecting federal judges should be housed within the judicial branch.
