Press Releases

Washington, D.C. (April 21, 2025)— Today, Rep. Jamie Raskin, Ranking Member of the House Judiciary Committee, and Rep. Hank Johnson, Ranking Member of the Subcommittee on Courts, Intellectual Property, Artificial Intelligence, and the Internet, sent a letter to Chief Justice John G. Roberts, Jr., expressing grave concern over the escalating volume and severity of threats against federal judges, their families, and courthouse personnel. The Ranking Members asked whether federal courts need additional funding or support from Congress to ensure the safety and security of the court system.  

“We write to you about the alarming rise in threats of violence being made against federal judges, with many of these threats not being idle ones at all. The whole climate of anti-judicial violence and intimidation is intolerable within our constitutional order. […] These threats of physical retribution against judicial officers for doing their job threaten the viability of the rule of law itself,” wrote Ranking Members Raskin and Johnson.

The letter comes on the heels of a recent campaign to undermine the authority of federal courts, including by targeting—and demanding the impeachment of—judges who have upheld the Constitution and ruled against the Trump Administration when it has acted unlawfully. Some House Republican Members have even posted “Wanted” signs in Congressional office buildings with names and photos of judges who have ruled against Trump—an egregious attempt to intimidate judges who are simply doing their jobs.

In the letter, the Ranking Members cited Chief Justice Roberts’s own concern about these escalating threats, which the Chief Justice described in his 2024 Year-End Report as “illegitimate activity” that “threaten[s] the independence of judges on which the rule of law depends.”

The danger to federal judges is not just hypothetical. Judge Esther Salas of the U.S. District Court for the District of New Jersey knows the stakes all too well: in 2020, a disgruntled litigant murdered her son and critically wounded her husband at their home. Despite this unimaginable loss, Judge Salas has continued to speak out bravely for judicial safety, recently warning, “I feel like people are playing Russian roulette with our lives.”

“We know our constitutional democracy relies strongly on the ability of Justices and judges to carry out your duties without fear of retaliation or harm. We are your partners in this endeavor, and we urge you to call upon us to help,” wrote the Ranking Members.

Click here to read the letter.