Another frightening step toward dictatorship this morning, as Trump issued a threatening post against Judge James E. Boasberg, the chief judge of the Federal District Court in Washington, who attempted to prevent Trump from deporting Venezuelans under the Alien Enemies Act without evidence or a hearing:
This Radical Left Lunatic of a Judge, a troublemaker and agitator who was sadly appointed by Barack Hussein Obama, was not elected President - He didn’t WIN the popular VOTE (by a lot!), he didn’t WIN ALL SEVEN SWING STATES, he didn’t WIN 2,750 to 525 Counties, HE DIDN’T WIN ANYTHING! I WON FOR MANY REASONS, IN AN OVERWHELMING MANDATE, BUT FIGHTING ILLEGAL IMMIGRATION MAY HAVE BEEN THE NUMBER ONE REASON FOR THIS HISTORIC VICTORY. I’m just doing what the VOTERS wanted me to do. This judge, like many of the Crooked Judges’ I am forced to appear before, should be IMPEACHED!!! WE DON’T WANT VICIOUS, VIOLENT, AND DEMENTED CRIMINALS, MANY OF THEM DERANGED MURDERERS, IN OUR COUNTRY. MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!!!
Similar attacks on the judiciary from Elon Musk against judges who stand in the way of his and Trump’s blitzkrieg have prompted U.S. Marshals to warn judges of high threat levels and to increase their protection.
But today’s post by Trump was his first and most direct attack on the judiciary since he’s become president for the second time.
Federal courts are now hearing more than 100 lawsuits challenging Trump’s and Musk’s initiatives.
Since the end of January, Musk has blasted judges in more than 30 posts on his social media site X, calling them “corrupt”, “radical”, “evil” and deriding the “TYRANNY of the JUDICIARY” after judges blocked parts of the federal downsizing he has led.
As a result, there has been a rise in violent threats against judges across the United States. Judges are expressing mounting alarm over their physical safety. Several judges describe phone calls promising personal harm to them and their families.
Two New York federal judges – US district Judges Paul Engelmayer and Jeannette Vargas – are getting extra security after their rulings blocked Musk’s so-called DOGE from accessing sensitive treasury department data.
When US district Judge Amir Ali ruled on February 25 that Trump must resume US foreign aid payments, Musk posted that “When judges egregiously undermine the democratic will of the people, they must be fired.”
Some of Musk’s 215 million followers on X said Judge Ali should be arrested for treason or deported. One suggested that “US patriots fire upon him.” Some assailed his Muslim heritage and questioned his patriotism, including one who falsely asserted Ali had ties to Muslim militant groups.
After an earlier February ruling by Ali in the same case, an X user called for him to be beheaded. Another questioned “why so few judges are hanged.” One posted a picture of a noose.
On Monday, the American Bar Association issued a statement denouncing the ongoing wave of verbal assaults and threats against judges.
The Federal Judges Association said on Tuesday that “continued violence, intimidation and defiance directed at judges simply because they are fulfilling their sworn judicial duties” risked “the collapse of the rule of law.”
That’s the issue: The collapse of the rule of law.
The judicial branch of government is co-equal to the presidency and to Congress, under the Constitution. Trump and Musk are treating judges as if they have no right to constrain them. Yet that’s precisely what judges are supposed to do if they find that the executive branch has exceeded its authority.
Trump’s message this morning is chilling evidence that Trump and Musk want to intimidate judges into backing their wanton destruction of the United States government.
How will this end? Will they stop when a federal judge is murdered?
Robert Reich is a professor of public policy at Berkeley and former secretary of labor. His writings can be found at https://robertreich.substack.com/."