by
Andrew
Harnik/Getty
Images)
Between
May
2024
and
March
2025,
threats
against
judges
increased
a
staggering
327%,
according
to
data
from
the
Global
Project
Against
Hate
and
Extremism.
That
stark
stat
isn’t
terribly
surprising
—
upsetting,
sure.
But
if
you’ve
been
paying
attention
at
all
over
the
past
few
months,
it’s
not
shocking.
See,
every
time
the
Trump
administration
suffers
a
setback
in
court,
they
take
to
social
media
or
cable
news
to
blame
the
judge.
And
the
MAGA
faithful
have
taken
the
bait,
amping
up
the
threats
aimed
at
the
judiciary.
For
example,
two
judges
received
extra
security
details
after their
rulings
put a
pause on
the DOGE
takeover and
resulted
in
right-wing
backlash.
And
the
administration’s
response
to
the
judicial
threats
has
been
absolutely
unhinged.
Gabe
Roth
of
Fix
the
Court
sees
the
MAGA
response
to
losing
in
court
as
fanning
the
flames
against
judges,
“Some
300
lawsuits
have
been
filed
against
the
Trump
administration
this
year,
and
when
the
administration
loses
any
one
of
them,
there’s
a
good
chance
the
president,
other
administration
officials
or
a
roving
band
of
online
goons
will
attack
the
judge—either
verbally
or
worse,
as
we
know
several
judges
have
had
pizzas
delivered
to
their
homes
as
a
way
of
threatening
them.”
And
the
problem
is
getting
worse
—
just
this
week,
the
Trump
administration
took
(another)
shot
at
Judge
James
Boasberg,
filing
a
misconduct
complaint
against
the
jurist
who
dared
to
try
to
slow
down
the
administration’s
ability
to
sell
people
to
El
Salvadorian
slave
prisons.
U.S.
District
Judge
Robert
Lasnik
told
ABA
Journal
after
watching
colleagues
on
the
bench
receive
death
threats,
he’s
hesitant
to
rule
against
the
Trump
Administration
—
which
is
quite
literally
letting
the
terrorists
win.
Lasnik
continued,
“I
wish
the
president
and
the
people
around
him
would
moderate
the
rhetoric
about
judges
being
awful,
that
they
should
be
impeached.”
He
said,
“It
feeds
to
the
atmosphere
that
federal
judges
are
the
enemy.”
But
*your*
hesitance
to
rule
against
them
is
precisely
why
MAGA
is
bullying
judges
—
when
the
Constitution
doesn’t
support
your
aggressive
right-wing
agenda,
well,
then
strongman
tactics
are
on
the
agenda.
From
the
Supreme
Court
on
down,
Trump’s
legal
arguments
have
depended
more
on
vibes
than
jurisprudence,
as
he
positions
the
executive
over
the
other
two
supposedly
co-equal
branches
of
government.
Wannabe
authoritarians
don’t
stop
just
because
you
wish
it
so;
indeed,
they
only
get
more
emboldened
when
judges
self-sensor
and
weaken
the
institutions
designed
to
provide
checks
and
balances.
Kathryn
Rubino
is
a
Senior
Editor
at
Above
the
Law,
host
of
The
Jabot
podcast,
and
co-host
of
Thinking
Like
A
Lawyer.
AtL
tipsters
are
the
best,
so
please
connect
with
her.
Feel
free
to
email
her
with
any
tips,
questions,
or
comments
and
follow
her
on
Twitter
@Kathryn1 or
Mastodon
@[email protected].