Supreme Court Justice Amy Coney Barrett has revealed the threats and intimidation that she and her family have faced in an increasingly polarized country.
“They have required me and my children to think about and see things that children should not have to see or think about,” she told lawmakers.
They included a swatting attack six weeks ago when police were called to her home after a bogus report that there had been gunshots and raised voices.
She said that many SCOTUS justices, herself included, had received deliveries at home that were meant to “designed to intimidate and harass us.”
She told the House Appropriations Committee on Tuesday that the deliveries were often sent in the name of the 20-year-old son of District Judge Esther Salas, who was murdered in his home in 2020 after opening the door to the gunman. “I think the message of these being sent in his name is clear,” she added.
Coney Barrett also said she was given a bulletproof vest for her protection and had to explain what it was to her 12-year-old son.
She said her son was standing in the doorway when she brought the protective vest home. “I didn’t know how to respond because maybe I lack imagination, but I didn’t expect that performing this service was going to put me in the position of explaining to my children what a bulletproof vest was and why I had to wear one,” added Coney Barrett.
The Trump-appointed justice was appearing with liberal Justice Elena Kagan to ask for a bigger security budget. The court heard that more than 200 judges have faced threats so far this year.
“The threats are constant and they are always there,” said Coney Barrett.
“This began, in part, because of Congress,” added Kagan. She said lawmakers told the justices in 2016 that they were “crazy” for not having security and that they were less protected than many congressional officials.
She said she was grateful to Congress for telling SCOTUS it needed to “raise its game in this area.”
“For some of us, those threats have come very close and all of us live with the knowledge that they may again materialize,” she added.
In an unusually bipartisan hearing, Reps from both sides agreed the security of the justices was of paramount importance.
Both justices told the hearing that they were heartened by young people’s engagement and were optimistic about the future.
