Two federal judges said at a virtual event Thursday they have dealt with harassment since taking on prominent cases related to the Trump administration, The Hill reported.
“We need a call to action in this country from our lawyers and from our judges to say, ‘Not in this country, not on our watch,'” U.S. District Judge John Coughenour of the Western District of Washington said at the event.
Coughenour ruled against President Donald Trump’s executive order to restrict birthright citizenship.
Police showed up at Coughenour’s home with guns drawn after a local sheriff’s officer received a swatting call saying he had murdered his wife.
“It’s just been stunning to me how much damage has been done to the reputation of our judiciary because some political actors think that they can gain some advantage by attacking the independence of the judiciary and threatening the rule of law,” Coughenour said at the event.
U.S. District Judge John McConnell Jr. of the District of Rhode Island, who blocked the Trump administration’s federal aid freeze, also spoke out, The Hill reported.
McConnell said his court has received more than 400 voicemails that he called “vile, threatening, and horrible.”
One voicemail called for McConnell to be imprisoned, and the caller expressed hope that the judge would be assassinated.
“I’ve been on the bench almost 15 years, and I must say, it’s the one time that actually shook my faith in the judicial system and the rule of law,” McConnell said, noting he’s faced six credible death threats on top of other threats to him and his family, The Hill reported.
McConnell said he wasn’t looking for pity or sympathy.
“I want to be able to just do my job again,” McConnell said.
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