In a troubling escalation, federal judges across the U.S. who have ruled against President Trump are facing a surge in harassment and threats. According to a July 31 report by Fortune and the Associated Press, judges have been subjected to coordinated intimidation tactics known as “pizza doxings”—unwanted food deliveries in the name of Daniel Anderl, the son of Judge Esther Salas who was murdered in 2020 by a disgruntled litigant. These acts often precede or accompany death threats.
More than 100 such incidents have been reported since 2024, according to U.S. Marshals. Judge John J. McConnell, Jr. of Rhode Island, who blocked Trump’s budget cuts, shared a chilling voicemail calling for his assassination. Judge Robert Lasnik, after criticizing judicial harassment in an interview, had pizzas sent not only to his home but to the homes of his adult children in separate cities. “The message to me was, ‘We know where you live. We know where your kids live,’” Lasnik said.
At a rare public forum hosted by Speak Up for Justice, several judges—normally silent outside the courtroom—spoke out. Judge Salas urged Trump and his allies to stop demonizing the judiciary: “They’re inviting people to do us harm.”
Trump has repeatedly targeted judges by name, calling them “sick,” “dangerous,” or “lunatics” on social media. His allies have echoed these attacks, with some lawmakers even displaying “wanted” posters of judges in their offices. In one extraordinary move, Trump’s DOJ recently sued every federal judge in Maryland over immigration rulings and filed a complaint against Judge James Boasberg for expressing concern about executive defiance of court orders.
Despite bipartisan concern, many judges fear speaking out due to political backlash. As Salas warns, this isn’t random harassment: “This is a targeted, concentrated, coordinated attack on judges — and yet we don’t hear any condemnation from Washington.”
These developments underscore growing threats to judicial independence and the rule of law in the United States.