Threats to Federal Judges, Prosecutors by the Numbers

Serious threats to US federal judges and prosecutors have more than doubled in recent years, due to what officials say is a growing wave of violence tied to political polarization. Data from the US Marshals Service, responsible for protecting court personnel, shows serious threats against federal judges climbed to 457 in fiscal year 2023 from 300 in fiscal year 2022 and 224 in 2021, while serious threats against federal prosecutors shot from 68 in 2021 and 93 in 2022 to 155 in 2023, per Reuters and the Hill. Reuters notes the Marshals Service only launches "protective investigations" into the most serious threats, meaning the numbers don't provide the full picture.

Previously, the people most likely to threaten judges and prosecutors were those involved in court cases, Marshals Service chief Ronald Davis tells Reuters. But since highly politicized cases, including former President Donald Trump's legal efforts to overturn his presidential election loss, began appearing before federal courts in 2020, politically motivated threats have become more routine. A recent NBC News investigation found Trump often accused judges and prosecutors of being "political," "tyrannical," and "hostile," through remarks at rallies, to reporters, on social media, even in court testimony, in an effort to provoke distrust of the courts.

"These vicious attacks on the judiciary and the federal court and even on individual judges are unprecedented in American history by anyone, let alone a president of the United States," retired federal appeals court judge J. Michael Luttig told NBC, which reported Trump's attacks prompted threats from his supporters. But it's not only judges and prosecutors involved in prosecutions of Trump that have received threats. Those involved in battles over abortion rights have, too, per Reuters. Davis, to testify before the House Judiciary Subcommittee on Crime and Federal Government Surveillance on Wednesday, notes political threats mark "the beginning of the process that threatens the judiciary and threatens our democracy," per Reuters. (More threats stories.)