A federal judge said he and his family have been subjected to hundreds of threatening messages and multiple credible death threats after he issued several rulings against the Trump administration.
U.S. District Judge John McConnell, Rhode Island’s chief federal judge, said the threats began escalating in early 2025 after he temporarily blocked the Trump administration’s freeze on trillions of dollars in federal funding.
“We’re just doing our job,” McConnell told The Washington Post. “What’s unusual is the dehumanization, the threats, the personalization of our doing our jobs.”
McConnell said the threats escalated after his ruling on the funding freeze case
After McConnell issued the temporary restraining order, he later reminded the administration that it was required to comply or risk being held in criminal contempt.
That night, far-right activist Laura Loomer accused McConnell of abusing his judicial authority in a post on X, formerly known as Twitter, that included a photo of his daughter, who previously worked as a political appointee in the Department of Education under the Biden administration. Elon Musk, then leading the Department of Government Efficiency, shared the post to millions of followers.
“I signed up for whatever, I’ll take the lumps,” McConnell said, according to The Washington Post. But when his daughter became a target, “I felt like someone put a dagger through my heart.”
An unsolicited pizza delivery changed McConnell’s outlook on his safety
From there, McConnell said the threats escalated. His office received about 400 disturbing calls and emails. The U.S. Marshals Service identified at least six credible death threats. One threatened his wife, and another involved someone searching for his home address on the dark web, per The Washington Post.
McConnell also received threats at his home. An unsolicited pizza was delivered under the name Daniel Anderl, the son of New Jersey-based U.S. District Judge Esther Salas. Anderl was fatally shot in 2020 by a disgruntled attorney who was targeting his mother.
Similar deliveries were sent to federal judges in at least seven states.
“I don’t think anything disturbed me as much as that did,” McConnell said.
Threats against federal judges have increased nationwide
The U.S. Marshals Service recorded 564 threats against federal judges in the 2025 fiscal year, up from 509 the previous year, while security incidents of “significant concern” jumped 57%, according to the federal law enforcement agency.
Trump and his administration have repeatedly criticized judges who ruled against them. White House spokeswoman Abigail Jackson pushed back against suggestions that Trump’s criticism of judges amounts to threats.
“The implication that President Trump sharing his opinions about judges is akin to making threats is deeply unserious and should be dismissed by anyone with half a brain,” Jackson told The Washington Post. “No one understands the dangers of political violence more than President Trump. The Trump Administration cares deeply for the safety of all members of the Judicial Branch.”
McConnell said efforts to intimidate judges strike “at the very heart of the constitutional role of the courts as the preserver of the rule of law in our country.”