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 @Kathryn1@mastodon.social.
The post Why Would Trump Stop Bullying Judges When It’s So Effective? appeared first on Above the Law.
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 @Kathryn1@mastodon.social.
The post Why Would Trump Stop Bullying Judges When It’s So Effective? appeared first on Above the Law.
