The judiciary is under attack
I sat down with Judge Beth Bloom of the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida to discuss escalating threats on federal judges
Threats against federal courts have escalated, with over 27,000 cases reported between late 2015 and 2022, a trend that rose rapidly through 2025 and early 2026. Platforms like Gab, Truth Social, and TikTok have seen massive increases in threatening posts against judges, with a 324% spike in the last year.
In 2020, Judge Esther Salas and her family were targeted, resulting in the murder of her son. Roy Den Hollander, a lawyer who had previously argued a case before Judge Salas and was known as an “anti-feminist,” targeted Judge Salas due to a ruling, found her address online, and posed as a FedEx driver to gain entry.
According to reports from the Bolch Judicial Institute of Duke Law School, the surge in threats undermines the rule of law, discourages judicial independence, and pressures judges to factor personal safety into legal decisions.
Last week, I had the honor of sitting down with Judge Beth Bloom of the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida to discuss this disturbing trend and the impact it is having on this Nation’s judiciary; I highly encourage everyone to watch.
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What can judges do about this?
Lawyers and judges are bound by codes of ethics that regulate their behavior and practice of law. The Model Code of Judicial Conduct Rule 1.2 states that judges “shall avoid impropriety and the appearance of impropriety.” Comment 3 of the Rule further explains that this prohibits "[c]onduct that compromises or appears to compromise the independence, integrity, and impartiality of a judge” because it “undermines public confidence in the judiciary.” Judges are held to a higher standard than lawyers and cannot even act in a way that may appear to undermine judicial integrity or the rule of law. Accordingly, as judges began to speak out against the gross attacks against the rule of law and the judiciary, there was discussion as to whether or not it was allowed.
Then, on February 12, the U.S. Judicial Conference — the governing body that oversees the entire federal court system — provided the answer in Advisory Opinion 118. The ethics board that guides federal judges made something explicit that had not, until now, ever needed to be said: judges can speak out to defend the bench.
Judge Bloom explained that this opinion “is significant because it does clarify that we can certainly speak out when there are illegitimate attacks on judges and the rule of law.” “It provides an opportunity for the judges to educate the public but also to attempt to focus on the misinformation that is being given to the public,” she added. Judge Bloom emphasized that judges rely on the public’s trust and the public’s support, so when there is misinformation that is spread regarding the courts being “political actors,” it weakens the power of the judiciary.
An article from the American Bar Association further explained that this new ethics rule gives judges the ability to talk about issues such as sufficient funding and “judicial security.”
Is the Trump Administration part of the problem?
Sadly, yes.
Within hours of the recent ruling on President Trump’s unconstitutional and illegal tariffs, he attacked individual members of the Supreme Court as “unpatriotic and disloyal to the Constitution.” He called the “Democratic” justices who ruled against the Administration a “disgrace to our nation” and accused the “Republican” justices in the majority of being “fools,” “lapdogs,” and chillingly, “an embarrassment to their families.” Without any evidentiary support, he claimed that the majority had been “swayed by foreign interests.” He called Justices Barrett and Gorsuch are “an embarrassment to their families.”
The Trump Administration has also been violating court orders, including 52 in New Jersey alone and nearly 100 in Minnesota, according to one judge.
Trump’s assault on the judiciary appears to be by design. If he manages to undermine its legitimacy, his own power and lack of accountability gets solidified.
Consider that on November 7, 2025, Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche told the audience at the Federalist Society’s annual conference that the Trump administration was essentially at “war” with judges, often accusing them of being “political.”
“Judges are not politicians,” responded Judge Bloom. “We do not have a constituency. . . if we had a constituency, it would be the rule of law and the Constitution. We rely on trust. We rely on the public’s trust in our legitimacy.”
Judge Bloom reiterated that if there is no confidence in the courts, then the third branch of government cannot function as designed. Judicial independence must be maintained for the people to continue to have access to the legal system.
Why should this matter to all Americans?
A neutral and independent judiciary is critical to American democracy. It’s where regular people go to get justice. People who can’t afford fancy lobbyists and heavy campaign contributions to influence elections. Courts sit at the heart of liberty and freedom in a functioning democracy.
Judge Bloom explained that there is a false narrative about judges who make the right decision but are criticized or threatened solely because people disagree with the opinion. There are judicial opinions that come out all the time that are dissatisfactory. But just because we disagree with how the judges interpret the law or the result that the law requires does not mean that it is wrong. That is why we have the other two branches of government: to fill in the gaps that the judges and the courts miss. The judges cannot create laws, so if we want the laws to be changed, we have to go to the ballot box.
“Judges don’t always get it right,” Judge Bloom acknowledged, “but that’s why we have an appellate process.” For it to work, the courts need the public’s trust.
What’s the takeaway?
Protecting the judiciary from intimidation is essential to maintaining a society governed by laws, not by fear. These attacks on the judges should create a sense of fear in all Americans—involved in the legal system or not—because they threaten judicial independence and the rule of law, and our democracy as a whole.
For more, check out Speak Up for Justice, a national, nonpartisan virtual forum and growing movement uniting thousands of judges, attorneys, academics, legal professionals, and citizens in defense of judicial independence and the rule of law. Judge Bloom is on the Executive Committee for Speak Up for Justice.
The forum was created out of a shared recognition that the judiciary is facing unprecedented attacks. Speak Up for Justice has cultivated “a powerful space for the legal community and the public to come together, speak out, show collective support, and take action to protect a justice system that serves everyone, regardless of politics, power, or popularity.” You can check out the website, linked above, on ways to get involved.
Make sure you are subscribed to this Substack for more conversations with other incredible guests! Thank you again Judge Bloom.
I’m glad you’re here,
KW
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I agree with you so much. Thank you for saying this.
“Threats against federal courts have escalated, with over 27,000 cases reported between late 2015 and 2022, a trend that rose rapidly through 2025 and early 2026. Platforms like Gab, Truth Social, and TikTok have seen massive increases in threatening posts against judges, with a 324% spike in the last year. In 2020, Judge Esther Salas and her family were targeted, resulting in the murder of her son. Roy Den Hollander, a lawyer who had previously argued a case before Judge Salas and was known as an “anti-feminist,” targeted Judge Salas due to a ruling, found her address online, and posed as a FedEx driver to gain entry.” (written by Kim Wehle and published in Substack on 3/26/2026) Mr. Hollander, now deceased, was a drug addict - especially psychedelic drugs - which are linked to the majority of mass shootings. Psychedelic drugs are a class of psychoactive substances that produce profound alterations in perception and thought processes.” (AI Overview) The largest drug distributor in the United States is Russian Organized Crime.
On October 4, 2025, the waterfront residence of South Carolina Circuit Court Judge Diane Goodstein on Edisto Island was destroyed by a significant fire. Although Judge Goodstein was absent at the time, three individuals—including her husband, former state Senator Arnold Goodstein—sustained injuries. The South Carolina Law Enforcement Division (SLED) is currently investigating the origin of the fire. As of mid-October, there have been no findings indicating arson – and they will not find any trace. Judge Goodstein refused to transfer South Carolina voter registration information to DOJ.
Threats against U.S. federal judges have sharply increased since 2020, driven by political polarization, social media, and high-profile cases. The U.S. Marshals Service reported hundreds of incidents, including death threats and harassment, often linked to election-related rhetoric and controversial rulings like Judge Diane Goodstein. (U.S. Marshals Service(.gov)
Since 2016 and the election of Donald Trump, we have witnessed a drastic increase in violence across our nation. At the end of his first term, the FBI reported violent crimes increased by 30% including hate crimes. The largest increase in the history of our nation.
Russian Organized Crime, or The Vory, operates in the United States through drug distribution, sports gambling, arson, murder, mass shootings, cyber-attacks, threatening phone calls, and even kidnapping. They leave no evidence, no proof, no documentation, no fingerprints, and no indication of their association with a crime. Located in every U.S. state, they enact Mr. Putin’s plan to destroy the United States “from the bottom up” and fulfill every wish or expression of revenge coming from Trump. Unfortunately, our population, our elected congressional representatives, and mostly Republicans are benighted and oblivious regarding their presence or their destruction.
In 2024, the state of George received 60 bomb threats at voting locations. Brad Raffensperger, the Secretary of State, traced these calls from Russian email domains. At that time, this state still had an open “election interference case” against Mr. Trump for his phone call – that was recorded – to Mr. Raffensperger asking him to “just find 11,780 votes”.
Former U.S. Representative Anthony Gonzalez, who represented Ohio’s 16th Congressional District, faced intense backlash and “fury” from supporters of President Donald Trump following his vote to impeach him. Threating phone calls to his family said that his children would be mutilated and murdered. He not only refused to run for re-election but hired 24-hour protection for his family.
“In December 2023, multiple schools in Ohio received bomb threats that were believed to be linked to Russian hackers.” (Wikipedia)
“Russian-linked actors are conducting widespread phishing campaigns, primarily targeting Signal and WhatsApp accounts of government officials, military personnel, and journalists to steal account access. These campaigns often masquerade as technical support to trick users into divulging codes. Key threats involve social engineering, account hijacking, and potential spyware distribution.” (Wikipedia)
Russian state-backed hackers persist in attacking U.S. computer systems for spying, profit, and possible disruption. Only two days ago, Hacker News reported that a “Russian hacker was sentenced to 6.75 years after enabling ransomware attacks causing $9M+ losses in the U.S.” Russians consider American prisons as a paid vacation. Other Russian hackers have infiltrated U.S. banking systems, military sites, utilities, and vital government computers.
By early 2026, many Americans consider Russia to be an adversary and a serious threat to U.S. interests. However, most of the public does not believe that a direct Russian invasion or immediate devastation of the U.S. homeland is likely. This view is naïve and credulous. Putin’s two-part plan to destroy the United States includes Donald Trump – from the top-down devastation of our government to ROC wreckage of our society from the bottom up using drugs, murder, gambling, cyber-attacks, and other criminal activities. This “plan” was published in the book called The Foundations of Geopolitics in Moscow in 1997.