Donald Trump’s top Department of Homeland Security lawyer has been accused of risking bloodshed by publishing a “Worst of the Worst” list of sitting federal judges.
A group of 128 former state and federal judges, described by organizers as bipartisan, announced Wednesday that it had filed an ethics complaint against DHS general counsel James Percival. The Florida Bar member, 40, is accused of making false or recklessly misleading claims about judges who ruled against the Trump administration.
Threats against judges are already widespread. Updated U.S. Marshals Service figures show 415 threats against federal judges during fiscal 2026 through Aug. 17. A total of 307 different judges were targeted.
That didn’t stop Percival from unveiling his “Worst of the Worst, District Judge Edition” on his official X account July 23. He named Clinton-appointed Judge Matthew Kennelly, Obama appointees Allison Burroughs and Paula Xinis, and Biden appointee Hernán Vera.
The list included no Trump appointees.
Percival accused Kennelly of “judicial sabotage” over an immigration ruling. He claimed Burroughs deliberately slowed a case to obstruct deportations and described an order from Xinis as “crazy.”
He also accused Vera of endangering DHS officers by restricting their use of force against journalists, legal observers and protesters.
Percival continued his attacks the following day. He branded another judge, Clinton appointee Patti Saris, “rogue,” and claimed district judges were engaged in “mutiny against the Supreme Court.”
Led by former Florida Supreme Court chief justice Peggy Quince, Democracy Defenders Fund and Lawyers Defending American Democracy submitted the complaint.
Virginia Canter, Democracy Defenders Fund’s chief counsel and director of ethics and anti-corruption, said in a statement that Percival’s tactics “could be used to incite violence” against judges.
The filing cites U.S. District Judge Esther Salas, 57, whose 20-year-old son Daniel Anderl was murdered at their home in 2020 by a lawyer angered by her judicial work. Salas said Percival was “in essence, putting a bullseye on” the named judges.
The complaint also alleges Percival violated a Florida rule barring lawyers from knowingly or recklessly making false statements about a judge’s integrity.
DHS has defended Percival’s posts as “nothing more than a factual review of judicial decisions and their real-world consequences.”
Percival told Fox News on July 30 that he was not attacking the entire judiciary. He said he was identifying a small number of judges “who are causing the same problems over and over and over again.”
DHS and the White House regularly complain that threats and assaults against ICE agents have skyrocketed during Trump’s second term. DHS claimed last October that death threats had risen 8,000 percent.
The Daily Beast has contacted DHS for comment.
