Dems to Chief Justice Roberts: Help us help you protect federal judges

WASHINGTON (CN) — House Democrats on Monday reaffirmed their commitment to protecting federal judges and courthouses, urging the country’s top judge to let them know how Congress can step in to address an increasing threat environment.

The move comes just weeks after the judiciary’s top policymaking body implored congressional appropriators to allocate additional funding to severely lacking court security programs, which it said are largely insufficient to meet expanding threats against federal courts.

Writing in a letter to Chief Justice John Roberts, the group of Democrats led by Maryland Representative Jamie Raskin and Georgia Representative Hank Johnson again sounded the alarm about judicial security, adding that many recent threats against judges and courthouse have not been “idle ones.”

The federal judiciary, all the way up to the Supreme Court, has faced startling threats over the past few months, related largely to litigation and rulings challenging some of the Donald Trump administration’s executive actions.

In March, Justice Amy Coney Barrett’s sister was targeted with a pipe bomb threat. Barrett had recently come under fire for her vote in a recent case forcing the White House to spend foreign aid money — though there was no indication that decision was a factor in the threat. And in January, D.C. District Judge Tanya Chutkan was the victim of a “swatting” attack which saw police called to her home for reports of a shooting that did not occur. Chutkan oversaw cases related to Trump’s effort to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election.

Roberts himself slammed “illegitimate activity” against the federal judiciary in his 2024 year-end report and observed a “significant uptick” in such incidents. He argued that attacks on judges and courts threaten the independence of judges and the rule of law.

Writing to the chief justice on Monday, House Democrats cited his comments and pointed out that threats against the judiciary have more than tripled over the last decade.

“The whole climate of anti-judicial violence and intimidation is intolerable within our constitutional order,” the lawmakers said. “Each and every one of these threats trouble us not just as Members of Congress who share the same kinds of threats in this hostile environment, but as Americans deeply invested in the ability of the judiciary to do its essential work without violent interference and intimidation.”

The Democrats reminded Roberts that they are “committed” to assisting the judiciary in protecting courthouses, judicial staff, judges and their families.

“To the extent any additional resources or authorities are necessary for you to do your work unencumbered please let us know as soon as practicable,” they added. “We are your partners in this endeavor, and we urge you to call upon us for help.”

The Democrats’ affirmation to Roberts comes just weeks after the U.S. Judicial Conference, the judiciary’s policymaking body, warned Congress that it didn’t have enough money to properly protect federal judges and courts from escalating threats.

In a letter to congressional appropriators, Judicial Conference officials implored them to increase funding for the judiciary’s security programs, arguing that years of relatively flat appropriations inked as part of a series of short-term funding bills have made the security situation “unsustainable” in the current environment.

If Congress refuses to provide additional funding, the Judicial Conference said, the judiciary may be required to reduce security measures even further.

But while Democratic lawmakers have gone to bat for federal judges, the Republican majority on Capitol Hill has sought to restrict their powers. The House earlier this month passed California Representative Darrell Issa’s No Rogue Rulings Act, a bill that would reduce the scope of nationwide injunctions issued by federal judges.

Though the measure is a direct response to recent court injunctions that have held up the Trump administration’s agenda, Issa has posed his push to clamp down on the mechanism as a bipartisan endeavor.

Meanwhile, other Republicans — and even Trump himself — have branded judges ruling against the president as political activists and called for their impeachments. Tennessee Representative Andy Ogles, one of Congress’ most ardent proponents of judicial impeachments, even displayed a “wanted” poster outside his office featuring pictures of federal judges who issued rulings he believed to be politically motivated.

Though the push for impeachments has gotten a boost from Trump and his billionaire adviser Elon Musk, the effort remains unpopular among top Republicans in Congress and is unlikely to go anywhere.

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