Supreme Court Justice Amy Coney Barrett told lawmakers that a sharp increase in threats targeting her and other justices is increasingly encroaching on their personal and family lives. During a rare appearance by justices before Congress, Barrett said she had to wear a bulletproof vest home a few years ago, something she struggled to explain to her 12-year-old son.

Security Concerns

Barrett and Justice Elena Kagan testified before a House appropriations panel in support of a request to increase security funding for members of the nation’s highest court. Judges around the country have seen a rise in threats of violence and intimidation. Barrett’s home was also targeted by a fake swatting call to police in May.

The Supreme Court requested a total of $228 million for next fiscal year, a roughly 10% increase over the year before. About $18 million of that is for maintaining the building and grounds. Much of the requested increase, $14.6 million, would go to expanding personal protection for justices, with six more agents for each. An additional $2 million would fund an off-site residential security post aimed at making emergency responses faster, as well as increasing the number of Supreme Court police officers.

The U.S. Marshals Service, responsible for protecting judges, reported 564 threats in the government fiscal year that ended in September, an increase from the year before. That total includes threats to the hundreds of federal judges around the country, though the nine-member Supreme Court has not been immune.

Threats to Justices

In May, Barrett’s security detail worked with police to quickly deal with the call determined to be swatting, or a fake 911 call designed to provoke a police response. Last year, her sister was the victim of a bomb threat in Charleston, South Carolina, police said. No bomb was found. In 2022, shortly after the leak of a draft opinion overturning the Roe v. Wade abortion decision, a would-be assassin was arrested near the home of Justice Brett Kavanaugh with weapons and zip ties.

Chief Justice John Roberts has condemned the threats to all U.S. judges, saying during a speech in March that criticism of judicial opinions is understandable, but personally directed hostility is “dangerous, and it’s got to stop.”

Original reporting: NBC4 Los Angeles — read the source article.