Amy Coney Barrett Swatting Incident Tests Whether Anyone Cares About Threats To Judges Who Aren't On SCOTUS - Above the Law

A caller claiming to be a neighbor reported gunshots at Justice Amy Coney Barrett’s home to a county non-emergency line shortly after 9 p.m. Officers coordinated with Supreme Court Police already stationed at the residence and determined within minutes that the report was fake, without needing additional units. The incident is characterized as swatting, a tactic that tricks armed police into storming a home and can lead to catastrophic outcomes. Threats and violent intimidation aimed at federal judges have increased across the country with less public attention. A tally recorded 241 threats against 202 judges in 2026. Supreme Court justices have heightened security, while lower court judges often do not. Threats include harassment and violent language directed at judges’ identities and families.

"Somebody claiming to be a neighbor called the Fairfax County non-emergency line just after 9 p.m. Wednesday to report gunshots at a home belonging to Justice Amy Coney Barrett. Officers coordinated with the Supreme Court Police already stationed at the residence, figured out within minutes that the report was fake, and - per the department's own statement - didn't even have to send extra units. It's being characterized as a swatting attempt, the practice of tricking armed cops into storming someone's house where something can go catastrophically wrong."

"Threats against Supreme Court justices garner more attention, but incidents of violent intimidation directed at federal judges are up across the country without much fanfare. Balls and Strikes tallied 241 threats against 202 judges in 2026 alone, and that story came out in March. Supreme Court justices have access to heightened security - like the officers already stationed at Justice Barrett's house - but lower court judges aren't as fortunate."

"In January, conservative judges were mocking the rise in threats and harassment against fellow judges. Judge James Ho blasted the Federal Judges Association for having "politicized" security for judges. "Today, they're fearful when a judge receives an unsolicited pizza delivery at home," he said, glibly ignoring that these orders communicate we know where you live and are being made in the name of Judge Esther Salas's murdered son."

"The intimidation tactics go beyond the macabre pizza deliveries. Judge Ana Reyes described being called a "foreign-born lesbian" who should "eat a bullet" after an immigration ruling. At an event last fall, Judge Paul Grimm quoted a threat made against a different federal judge "We are going to rape your daughter in front of you, cut her head off so the blood splatters on you, then rape you, an"

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