Threats To U.S. Federal Judges Double Since 2021

Serious threats to US federal judges have more than doubled over the past three years, part of a growing wave of politically driven violence, according to US Marshals Service data reviewed by Joseph Tanfani, Peter Eisler, and Ned Parker reported for Reuters.

Serious threats against federal prosecutors also more than doubled, from 68 in 2021 to 155 in 2023.

The agency, responsible for the protection of 2,700 federal judges and more than 30,000 federal prosecutors and other court personnel, has seen a sharp rise in threats related to the country’s bitter political divisions, Marshals Director Ronald Davis told Reuters in a recent interview.

Serious threats against federal judges – ones that trigger an investigation by the agency – rose to 457 in fiscal year 2023, which ended on Sept. 30, from 224 in fiscal 2021, according to the previously unreported data.

Serious threats against federal prosecutors also more than doubled, from 68 in 2021 to 155 in 2023, the statistics show.

The spike spans a period that began around the time of the 2020 presidential election, when federal courts heard a series of highly politicized cases, including failed lawsuits filed by former President Donald Trump and his backers seeking to overturn his loss.

Over the same timeframe, election officials saw a barrage of threats from Trump’s supporters, as previously documented by Reuters.

WEEKLY FEATURE : Jose Mari Chan And The Christmas Anthem