Attorney General Formella Leads Bipartisan Coalition Calling for Increased Security Funding for Judiciary

Concord, NH - Attorney General John M. Formella announces that he is co-leading a bipartisan coalition of 47 attorneys general that are urging Congressional leaders to provide urgently needed funding to strengthen security for federal judges, their families, courthouse staff, and members of the public who rely on the federal courts.

"Ensuring that judges can do their jobs safely is essential to the rule of law," said Attorney General Formella. "The dramatic increase in threats targeting judges and their families is unacceptable. Congress must act now to give the Judiciary and the U.S. Marshals Service the resources they need to protect our courts, the people who work in them, and the public they serve."

In a letter sent to House and Senate leadership, the coalition highlights a sharp rise in threats and harassment directed at judges across the country, including doxxing, swatting, intimidation at judges' homes, and other dangerous conduct that has escalated in both frequency and severity over the past decade.

The bipartisan letter cites U.S. Supreme Court Chief Justice John G. Roberts, Jr.'s 2024 year-end report, which warned of a "significant uptick" in threats against judges nationwide. According to the U.S. Marshals Service, the number of concerning or potentially threatening communications directed at judges has more than tripled in the past decade.

Yet funding for the Judiciary's Court Security program has been locked in a "hard freeze" for two consecutive years. As a result, basic courthouse security functions-including Court Security Officer staffing, visual monitoring systems, physical access controls, and other core infrastructure-are now under significant strain.

The attorneys general also call for increased support for the Judiciary's Vulnerability Management Program, which implements the bipartisan Daniel Anderl Judicial Security and Privacy Act. The law was enacted in honor of Daniel Anderl, the son of U.S. District Judge Esther Salas, who was murdered in 2020 by an assailant who obtained the family's home address online.

The Act restricts data brokers from selling judges' personally identifiable information and empowers judges and their families to request the removal of such information from government and private databases-protections that require adequate funding to enforce.
This year alone, more than 100 federal judges have reported being doxxed and targeted with unsolicited deliveries to their homes, many placed under Daniel Anderl's name in a chilling attempt at intimidation.

The letter was co-led by Attorney General Formella, Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison, New Jersey Attorney General Matthew J. Platkin, Pennsylvania Attorney General Dave Sunday, and West Virginia Attorney General John B. McCuskey.

Attorneys general from the following states and territories also signed on: Alaska, American Samoa, Arizona, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, the District of Columbia, Georgia, Hawaii, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Mississippi, Nebraska, Nevada, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, Puerto Rico, Rhode Island, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Utah, Vermont, Virgin Islands, Washington, Wisconsin, and Wyoming.