In returning Donald Trump to the White House, MAGA faithful wanted to see change.
asserted
faithful → return → change
The president-elect was keen to oblige.
asserted
elect → oblige → ?
"Starting tomorrow, I will act with historic speed and strength and fix every single crisis facing our country," Mr Trump said the day before his inauguration.
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Trump → start → inauguration
As it turned out, many policies laid out in pursuit of that order faced legal challenges, with more than 850 lawsuits reportedly filed against the second Trump administration.
uncertain
lawsuits → turn → administration
And for the judges presiding over these cases, some say it has made their jobs more dangerous.
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it → preside → cases
After hearing a case related to the Trump administration's immigration crackdown, a federal judge said they received more than 700 threatening phone calls, which led to their child's school ramping up active shooter training.
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school → hear → training
When their home's floor plan was shared online, they built a safe room and drilled their family on how they would respond to an intruder.
"For a long time, we didn't allow our child to play outside,"the judge said.
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judge → share → time
Threats to federal judges have escalated to unprecedented levels under Mr Trump's second term, according to a new report based on interviews with 35 sitting and retired jurists appointed by Democratic and Republican presidents as far back as Ronald Reagan.
uncertain
Threats → escalate → Reagan
While threats against the judiciary are not new, every sitting and retired judge interviewed for the report by the Brennan Center for Justice, a nonpartisan law and policy institute, said the dangers were more serious today than in the past.
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dangers → sit → past
The US Marshals Service (USMS), the agency responsible for federal judges' security, recorded a 57 per cent increase in security incidents of significant concern in the 2025 fiscal year.
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Service → record → year
The agency forecasts the number is on pace to rise again in the 2026 fiscal year, but declined to provide the raw figures when contacted by the ABC.
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number → forecast → ABC
Similarly, USMS figures show threats recorded during protective investigations — a separate metric — increased by 10 per cent during the 2025 fiscal year.
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threats → show → year
Nearly all 17 judges currently serving told the Brennan Center they were concerned about the safety of their family members.
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they → serve → members
"We sign up for this.
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We → sign → this
We are public servants," Judge Beth Bloom of the Southern District of Florida said during an interview for the report.
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Bloom → say → report
"But our children don't sign up for this."
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children → sign → this
An article published by Reuters in 2025 documented how an emerging pattern of "pizza doxxing" exploited this fear to maximise intimidation.
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pattern → publish → intimidation
The practice sees antagonists have unsolicited pizzas delivered to judges' homes to signal that their addresses are known, and that they are being watched.
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they → see → homes
Often, the deliveries arrive in the name of Daniel Anderl, who was fatally gunned down by someone attempting to assassinate his mother, New Jersey District Judge Esther Salas.
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who → arrive → mother
Some judges also described paying out of pocket for additional security for their families.
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judges → describe → families
"You stop doing things," said one district judge who lived with round-the-clock federal law enforcement protection for several months.
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who → stop → months
"I enjoy grocery shopping, and I stopped doing it during this time because we had to have a marshal go in and check it …
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marshal → enjoy → it
It wasn't worth it."
Why judges think threats are increasing
While the causes of the heightened threat environment were complex, the judges repeatedly identified three key factors that contributed to the issue.
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that → think → issue
They cited the political climate, echoing comments by then-USMS director Ronald Davis in 2024.
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They → cite → 2024
"In the past, judges mostly faced threats from people who were upset about a judge's decision in their own cases," he said, but many more were now coming from "people enraged because of politics".
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more → face → politics
The majority of sitting judges interviewed for the report pointed to the rapid increase in contentious cases that have attracted significant public attention.
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that → sit → attention
That included litigation that emerged in response to the January 6 US Capitol attack and challenges to Trump administration policies.
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that → include → policies
Several interviewees, including six sitting judges, said the intensity of threats had coincided with an increase of cases challenging Trump administration policies and assertions of executive power.
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intensity → include → power
More than 150 of the 881 court cases brought against the administration have at least partially halted those policies.
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150 → bring → policies
A federal judge noted the Trump administration "really cares" about immigration cases.
"
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administration → note → cases
It's discussed as if the fate of the world hangs on it.
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fate → discuss → it
Whether it does or not, it's what the perception is."
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perception → do → ?
The majority of judges discussed the increasingly common trend of politicians and political commentators mounting personal attacks against judges who made rulings they disliked.
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they → discuss → rulings
They specifically referenced remarks made by Mr Trump, members of Congress and prominent figures such as Stephen Miller and Elon Musk, in which they accused judges of bias, and in some cases, called for their impeachment.
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they → reference → impeachment
While some judges noted that Democratic politicians, such as Chuck Schumer in 2020, had also engaged in this behaviour in the past, the observation came with the caveat that the climate had shifted substantially particularly since Mr Trump returned to the Oval Office.
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Trump → note → Office
One district judge recalled being accused of bias by the president and his allies after ruling against the administration in one case.
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judge → recall → case
He reported receiving "countless pieces of hate mail and calls to chambers", requiring four months of full-time security detail at home.
"According to the judge, his wife also received intimidating calls on her cell phone late at night, and anonymous pizza deliveries were sent to his children's and siblings' homes," the report's authors wrote.
uncertain
authors → report → homes
District Judge John Coughenour, a Reagan appointee, described a similar experience in 2025, after he blocked an executive order on birthright citizenship.
"I have never experienced an executive branch so overtly hostile to the federal judiciary — top or bottom," Judge William G Young, who has spent more than 40 years in judicial service, said.
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who → describe → service
"Never have I experienced or seen anything like this — never — including [from] this president's prior administration."
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I → experience → administration
Many of the judges interviewed said social media platforms and data brokers have given antagonists access to personally identifiable information and platforms from which to make threats.
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platforms → interview → threats
…and 25 more, not listed.
The Aporia