Presiding judges always bear the brunt of court decisions, and the recent ruling by the Colorado Supreme Court leaving former President Donald Trump off the Republican primary ballot has led to a surge in threats made against these officials. These threats, widely discussed amongst supporters of the former President, usually occur in response to his litigation losses.
Such death threats have shockingly become commonplace in response to his legal adversity.
These threats are not only vile but unoriginal, employing a variety of violent methods against those perceived as opponents of Trump. Despite their horrific nature, these threats highlight a troubling trend in our political climate where threats against our nation’s judges are becoming commonplace.
Amidst these threats, a report by NBC News highlighted the severity of the situation. The report revealed violent rhetoric against the justices and Democrats in response to Trump’s posts about the ruling on his social media platform, Truth Social. The report also disclosed that some social media users went as far as to post the justices’ contact details.
Daniel J. Jones, president of Advance Democracy, spoke of the significant violent rhetoric and threats being made against the Colorado justices and others perceived to be behind the Colorado Supreme Court ruling. Jones flagged the normalization of such rhetoric and the absence of remedial action by social media platforms as a cause for concern. He stressed the importance of political leaders and social media platforms to take action against these calls for violence.
What was once a public.servant’s role has now become a position under constant threat. The normalization of threats against jurists is a worrying reflection of our times. More needs to be done to stem these violent outbursts.