At a recent forum, female judges spoke about the harassment and threats they have been receiving for being a federal judge, some for their decisions, some just for being female. Why isn’t this being shouted from the rooftops and in all forms of media? What has our country become? And can we stop this downward slide? Maybe. From AlterNet:
Four sitting female judges detailed the escalating threats they face over their rulings, including explicit intimidation that often targets them in ways their male colleagues rarely experience. At an event organized by Speak Up for Justice, a nonpartisan movement to defend the courts, judges cited threats of sexual assault, violent messages, and harassment of family members as part of a rise in attacks on the judiciary.
What the hell! Bad enough for the judges, but their family members, too? Some harassment can be expected as a *federal* judge, because *someone* is not going to like the result of a trial. What these ladies are going through is worse, sometimes MUCH worse. It’s female specific. People reading this can empathize. People can. Not just men or women, people.
The U.S. Marshals Service has logged 543 threats against federal judges so far this year, already exceeding the total number in 2024. Chief Justice Monica M. Márquez of the Colorado Supreme Court recounted the harassment that followed a 4-3 ruling to disqualify President Donald Trump from the state’s presidential primary ballot (which was later overturned by the U.S. Supreme Court).
She said all seven justices on the court were targeted, regardless of how they voted. “We also quickly learned… that all of our personal information had been doxxed. As a result, many of us received very hateful phone calls and threatening text messages on our personal cell phones. Many of those messages in certain cases were overtly racist or overtly misogynistic, overtly referred to sexual violence, were overtly homophobic,” Márquez said.
Good gods. We will have a hard time here because it’s different when reading about it as opposed to experiencing it. Why is this happening in the first place? We can bet that, just like the report that Denis told us was removed from the DOJ website, the odds are overwhelmingly in favor of a RWNJ, or more than one. Has Trump set them loose so that they feel they can do this with impunity? What the hell!!!
Judge Carroll J. Kelly, U.S. State Judge, Eleventh Judicial Circuit of Florida, said she faced cyberattacks and stalking after multiple case rulings. Law enforcement maintained round-the-clock security at her home, and she was instructed to carry a gun for personal safety. “He was a trained sniper, hand-to-hand combat expert, and an expert marksman, all highly trained. I had officers around the clock at my home, but they came in, they said, ‘let’s get guns, let’s get those loaded. You need to carry a gun with you. You need to have a gun with you at all times.‘ They sat down with me and said, ‘the truth of the matter is, we can have officers around your house, which we will, but if he wants to get you, he is so highly trained, he’s going to get you.'”
Judge Beth Bloom of the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida, who serves on the Speak Up for Justice executive committee, condemned the law enforcement response to the threats against Judge Kelly. “It’s horrifying to know that Judge Kelly was told by law enforcement that she had to be trained to use a weapon and to carry it with her to protect herself. The forum highlighted how female judges, in particular, encounter threats that combine misogyny with other forms of bias.
That’s the best they can do? Where was the FBI or DHS on this? Did they ignore it? They are the ones who should have been tracking the guy and taking care of him! The US Marshals have been tracking threats. Okay, why aren’t *they* doing anything? Some things just make no sense. Our judges need protection. They need to have these yahoos caught, prosecuted, and put away for a long time. But no. The Marshals track them, and law enforcement does what they can. It certainly seems like no one else does.
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