In 2022 and 2023, neo-Nazis, white supremacists, and antigovernment extremists have taken to social media platforms including Telegram, MeWe, Gab, and Gettr, to threaten U.S. judges and others in the legal system, including U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland and Special Counsel for the Department of Justice Jack Smith. The extremists have called for these and other prominent people to be hanged, executed by firing squad, or beheaded. Threats are often accompanied by images of nooses, guillotines, and blood.
Instances of such content increased following events such as Senate confirmation hearings for judges, particularly after Justice Ketanji Jackson, who is African American, was elevated to the Supreme Court in February 2022. Moreover, following the Federal Bureau of Investigation's raid on Mar-a Lago, the Florida residence of former president Donald Trump, and Trump's subsequent indictment for mishandling government documents, antigovernment extremists have increased their targeting of judges.
Extremists have made racist comments specifically directed at New York Attorney General Letitia James and federal district judge Tanya Chutkan. Neo-Nazis and white supremacists also threaten Jewish legal figures, including Attorney General Merrick Garland and federal magistrate judge Bruce Reinhart, espousing antisemitism and the Zionist Occupied Government (ZOG) conspiracy theory specifically. Other antigovernment extremists and white supremacists threaten judges more generally, as they believe the judges are all part of an "anti-White system."
The following report is a compilation of threats against judges on social media platforms from 2022 to the present.
Table of Contents
Threats Against Prominent U.S. Judges/p>
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Merrick Garland: United States Attorney General (And Former Judge On The U.S. Court Of Appeals For The District Of Columbia Circuit)
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Jack Smith: Special Counsel For The United States Department Of Justice
Threats Against Supreme Court Justices
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Ketanji Jackson: Associate Justice Of The Supreme Court Of The United States
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Clarence Thomas: Associate Justice Of The Supreme Court Of The United States
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General Threats Against U.S. Supreme Court Justices
Threats Against New York Jurists
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Alvin Bragg: Manhattan, New York District Attorney
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Letitia James: Attorney General Of New York
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Arthur Engoron: New York State Supreme Court Judge
Threats Against District Of Columbia Judges
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Judge Tanya Chutkan: United States District Court For The District Of Columbia
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Colleen Kollar-Kotelly: United States District Court For The District Of Columbia Judge
Threats Against Florida Judges
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Aileen Cannon: Judge Of The United States District Court For The Southern District Of Florida
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Bruce Reinhart: United States Magistrate Judge For The Southern District Of Florida
Threats Against Judges In Assorted U.S. States
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Shelley Joseph: Newton, Massachusetts District Court Judge
General Threats Against Judges
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