Federal judges warn of rising threats to safety of judiciary
U.S. District Judge Esther Salas of the District of New Jersey delivers remarks at a news conference in Newark, New Jersey, on Dec. 19, 2022. (Photo By Kyle Mazza/Sipa USA/Sipa via AP Images)
A federal judge in New Jersey on Wednesday warned about increasing threats to judges and criticized comments from “our president on down” and the use of vitriolic language, which she said is a “dog whistle” for vulnerable and angry people.
The remarks by U.S. District Judge Esther Salas of the District of New Jersey came during a keynote speech Wednesday at the 2026 Legalweek conference in Manhattan, New York City, hosted by Law.com. She was joined by District Judge Kenly Kato of the Central District of California, District Judge Karoline Mehalchick of the Middle District of Pennsylvania and District Judge Mia Perez of the Eastern District of Pennsylvania, according to a story by Law.com.
The four judges agreed that escalating rhetoric from political leaders dehumanizes the judiciary and signals that personal attacks against judges is acceptable, the story said.
Salas’ son was killed by a disgruntled litigator in 2020. She called out top Department of Justice officials for failing to publicly address increasing threats to the safety of the judiciary.
Salas focused on a harassment campaign that has become known as “pizza doxxing.” Hundreds of unsolicited pizza, including some ordered in the name of Salas’ murdered son, have been delivered to the homes of judges, according to Law.com.
“When you don’t see the attorney general of the United States, when you don’t see the deputy attorney general of the United States, stand at a podium and say, ‘We are investigating these pizza doxxings, and when we find who is doing this, we will prosecute you to the fullest extent of the law’ … to me, that silence says a lot,” Salas said.
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