Supreme Court Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson has excoriated the Trump administration, saying that recent aggressive actions and rhetoric towards the judiciary amount to “attacks on our democracy, on our system of government.” According to POLITICO, she made the comments at a judges’ conference in Puerto Rico on Thursday, referring only to “the elephant in the room” rather than any particular official. “The attacks are not random,” the Supreme Court Justice told her audience of fellow jurists. “They seem designed to intimidate those of us who serve in this critical capacity.”
The Trump administration’s policies towards the judiciary offer an abundance of evidence for what Jackson outlines. After U.S. District Judge Boasberg ruled against the White House on its deportation policy, the president called for his impeachment and called him a “Radical Left Lunatic” on social media. Boasberg has since faced online harassment from Trump supporters like influencer Laura Loomer, according to a Reuters report. Her spurious accusations against the judge, his daughter, and his brother in posts on X were amplified by Elon Musk, with commenters calling for their punishment or, on occasion, even their execution. Reuters found that at least ten other judges that have ruled against Trump are also facing threats and harassment, with hundreds of posts aimed at Boasberg alone. Some have reached tens of millions of views.
Intimidation crossed into action last week, when the FBI arrested Wisconsin judge Hannah Dugan, accusing her of interfering with the detainment of an undocumented migrant who was set to appear in her court. She has been charged with a felony count of obstructing or impeding a proceeding before a department or agency of the United States, and could face up to six years in jail. In a press conference this week, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt would not rule out arresting federal judges or even Supreme Court Justices. For Justice Jackson, the actions taken so far against the judiciary “ultimately risk undermining our Constitution and the rule of law.”
Despite going at length on the beleaguered state of the judiciary, Jackson offered words of encouragement to her audience, calling for “raw courage” in the face of the increased pressure those in their profession face. “I urge you to keep going, keep doing what is right for our country, and I do believe that history will vindicate your service.”
