128 retired jurists file ethics complaint over DHS lawyer’s ‘attacks’ via social media on 4 sitting judges
On August 20, 128 retired federal and state judges, joined by the Democracy Defenders Fund and Lawyers Defending American Democracy, filed a Florida Bar complaint against Department of Homeland Security General Counsel James Percival, alleging that his social media posts “threaten the rule of law and increase the risk of violence against judges.” On July 23 Percival published a “Worst of the Worst, District Judge Edition” list on his official account — reusing the label DHS applies to deported immigrants — naming Judges Matthew Kennelly, Allison Burroughs, Paula Xinis, and Hernán Vera, and continued attacking other judges afterward. The complaint invokes Florida Rule of Professional Conduct 4-8.2(a), which bars lawyers from impugning judges’ integrity, and argues that federal officials licensed in Florida are not exempt from state bar discipline. DHS characterized the posts as “a factual review of judicial decisions and their real-world consequences.” The complaint is notable as an attempt by the retired judiciary to use professional-responsibility rules as a defensive instrument against a government lawyer.