Judges face rise in threats as Musk blasts them over rulings

WASHINGTON: US Marshals have warned federal judges of unusually high threat levels as tech billionaire Elon Musk and other Trump administration allies ramp up efforts to discredit judges who stand in the way of White House efforts to slash federal jobs and programmes, said several judges with knowledge of the warnings.

In recent weeks, Musk, congressional Republicans and other top allies of US President Donald Trump have called for the impeachment of some federal judges or attacked their integrity in response to court rulings that have slowed the Trump administration’s moves to dismantle entire government agencies and fire tens of thousands of workers.

Musk, the world’s richest person, has lambasted judges in more than 30 posts since the end of January on his social media site X, calling them “corrupt,” “radical,” “evil” and deriding the “TYRANNY of the JUDICIARY” after judges blocked parts of the federal downsizing that he’s led. The Tesla CEO has also reposted nearly two dozen tweets by others attacking judges. Reuters interviews with 11 federal judges in multiple districts revealed mounting alarm over their physical security and, in some cases, a rise in violent threats in recent weeks. Most spoke on condition of anonymity and said they did not want to further inflame the situation or make comments that could be interpreted as conflicting with their duties of impartiality. The Marshals Service declined to comment on security matters.

As Reuters documented in a series of stories last year, political pressure on federal judges and violent threats against them have been rising since the 2020 presidential election, when federal courts heard a series of highly politicised cases, including failed lawsuits filed by Trump and his backers seeking to overturn his loss. Recent rhetorical attacks on judges and the rise in threats jeopardise the judicial independence that underpins America’s democratic constitutional order, say legal experts.

US Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts, in his annual year-end report in December, warned about a rising number of threats to the judiciary’s independence, including calls for violence against judges and “dangerous” suggestions by elected officials to disregard court rulings they disagree with.

On social media, Musk and Republican lawmakers have described judges as threats to democracy, turning the role of the federal judiciary -- a branch of government created to check executive and congressional power -- on its head. “The only way to restore rule of the people in America is to impeach judges,” Musk wrote in one post. “No one is above the law, including judges.”

Musk did not respond to a request for comment about his wave of criticism against the judiciary.

Several judges said the US Marshals Service, which provides judicial security, has informed them of a heightened threat environment over the past several weeks, either verbally or in writing. The Marshals also discussed security measures, the judges said, including regular searches for threatening posts online.

Two New York federal judges -- US District Judges Paul Engelmayer and Jeannette Vargas -- are receiving extra security after their rulings blocked staff from the Musk-driven Department of Government Efficiency from accessing sensitive Treasury Department data, according to a person with knowledge of the matter. Engelmayer and Vargas did not respond to requests for comment.