SERIOUS STATS

Threats Against Judges, Prosecutors Double Since 2020 Election

The U.S. Marshals Service has a growing concern about these threats, which are linked to violent rhetoric on social media and political polarization.

Serious threats to federal judges and have more than doubled since the 2020 presidential election, Reuters reports. The number of serious threats against federal judges jumped from 224 in 2021, to 457 in 2023, according to data provided to Reuters by the U.S. Marshals Service. The number of serious threats against federal prosecutors also more than doubled to 155 in 2023, from 68 in 2021. The agency is responsible for overseeing the safety of 2,700 federal judges and more than 30,000 federal prosecutors. Reuters has recorded 232 political acts of violence since the Jan. 6 riot at the U.S. Capitol, the most consistent period of political violence since the 1970s. Following the 2020 election, former President Donald Trump has been embroiled in a series of highly publicized lawsuits, and has regularly criticized judges who have ruled against him. Marshals Director Ronald Davis told Reuters that her agency has a growing concern about these threats, which are linked to violent rhetoric on social media and political polarization. Davis will testify at a U.S. House of Representatives Judiciary subcommittee oversight hearing on Wednesday.