Former Judges Warn Against ‘Fiery Rhetoric’ as Republicans Propose Security Funding Boost for the Judiciary

Criticism against the judiciary “is not new to this administration,” a former federal judge said. “What is new is the volume and also the rhetoric that’s attendant to it.”

Sept. 17, 2025 05:27 AM | Oriana González | NOTUS

The killing of Charlie Kirk prompted Republicans to not only boost funding for lawmakers’ own security in the latest government funding bill, but also spend millions more to protect the federal judiciary — where U.S. Marshals have investigated over 500 threats made against 364 individual judges in the past year.

The proposed funding increase comes as nearly 50 former federal judges published an open letter on Wednesday, warning against threats to judicial independence. Several told NOTUS the recent political rhetoric around judges has threatened their personal safety. The effort is brought by Keep Our Republic’s Article III Coalition, which was formed earlier this year to “protect the independence of the judiciary.” …