On March 19, sitting federal judges convened an extraordinary public forum organized by the group Speak Up for Justice, during which they read aloud profane and violent threats they had personally received — including voicemails threatening to “put a bullet in your head” — as part of a coordinated effort to document and condemn the …
In an unusually direct public intervention on March 17, Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr. declared that personal criticism of federal judges is “dangerous” and “has got to stop,” in remarks widely interpreted as directed at the Trump administration and its congressional allies. Roberts’ statement came as federal judges across the country faced a documented surge …
A federal judge issued a 130-page ruling on March 9 disqualifying three Justice Department officials whom Attorney General Pam Bondi had installed to jointly oversee the U.S. Attorney’s Office in New Jersey — finding that the arrangement was implemented unlawfully. The case began when Trump’s original nominee, his former personal attorney Alina Habba, was barred …
The U.S. Department of Justice under Attorney General Pam Bondi is advancing a proposed rule — published in the Federal Register on March 5, 2026 — that would allow the DOJ to suspend state bar disciplinary investigations of its own attorneys whenever a complaint is filed, requiring state bars to pause proceedings while the Department …
A CBS News 60 Minutes investigation reports that federal judges who rule against President Trump’s agenda are increasingly facing intimidation and violent threats, including “swatting,” bomb threats, doxxing, and other harassment aimed at judges and their families. The segment centers on U.S. District Judge John Coughenour, who said threats spiked after he blocked an executive …
Steven Greenhouse argues that Donald Trump’s recent tirade against supreme court justices (after they ruled against his tariff policy) is not an isolated outburst, but part of a broader, intentional campaign by Trump and key aides to vilify the judiciary. The article describes how Trump and figures like Stephen Miller and Pam Bondi portray judges …
A CBS News investigation documents a sharp rise in threats targeting U.S. public officials—especially judges—amid a political climate where online harassment is increasingly common and sometimes escalates into real-world violence. The story begins with a Minnesota man, Jeffrey Petersen, accused of posting menacing comments under pseudonyms tied to infamous mass shootings and directing threats at …
A federal judge, Ana Reyes (U.S. District Court in Washington, D.C.), read aloud death threats and profane messages she received after ruling that the Trump administration cannot immediately end Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for Haitians while a lawsuit proceeds. At a Thursday hearing, she refused to pause (stay) her earlier order and said judges “will …
A new federal judiciary ethics opinion clarifies that judges may publicly defend the courts (and even judicial colleagues) against “illegitimate” criticism and attacks that threaten judicial independence or the rule of law—so long as they do so in a measured way. The guidance comes amid escalating political pressure on judges, including rhetoric from President Donald …
On February 10, 2026, the U.S. Justice Department said it asked federal prosecutors to identify the “most egregious” cases of judges allegedly obstructing President Donald Trump’s agenda, information the department says could help Congress consider responses including impeachment referrals. The move escalates the administration’s public campaign against judges who have blocked parts of its immigration …