NBC News reports on a rare on-camera interview with federal judges Esther Salas and John Jones about escalating threats and violence against the judiciary. The segment centers on Salas’s personal story of losing her son in a 2020 shooting tied to a disgruntled lawyer, and both judges argue that anti-judge rhetoric from political leaders is intentionally eroding confidence in the courts and putting judges at physical risk.
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This segment is less a market story than a political and institutional risk story, but it is highly structured around one central thesis: threats against federal judges are rising, and the judges interviewed believe the escalation is being fueled by irresponsible rhetoric from elected officials, especially the president. NBC frames the discussion with recent threat counts from the U.S. Marshals Service — 324 investigated threats in the first half of this year, after 564 recorded threats last year — and then turns to Judges Esther Salas and John Jones to explain why they think the environment has deteriorated. The most emotionally forceful part of the interview is Salas’s account of the July 2020 shooting that killed her 20-year-old son Daniel and critically injured her husband Mark. …
Immediate setup is defensive: the judge-threat environment is already elevated, and fresh incidents like swatting keep the risk live. The key tactical risk is further escalation from inflammatory rhetoric or copycat behavior.
Over the next few months, the base case is continued pressure on judicial security unless leaders visibly de-escalate and reinforce norms. The setup improves only if Congress or the White House changes tone and backs that with concrete protections.
Longer term, the transcript points to a structural legitimacy problem: sustained attacks on judges can corrode trust in courts and normalize intimidation. If that persists, judicial security becomes a permanent feature of the political landscape rather than a temporary anomaly.
There were 324 investigated threats against federal judges in the first half of this year, after 564 recorded threats last year.
NBC cites U.S. Marshal Service figures to establish the rising threat environment.
Judge Salas says her son Daniel’s intervention helped block the shooter and likely saved her from being killed.
She recounts the July 2020 attack and says the assailant intended to assassinate her.
Salas believes she continues working because her son sacrificed his life for her and she should not squander it.
She directly connects her continued service to her son’s death.
In the immediate aftermath of the shooting, did you think that individual was coming for you?
Judge Salas says she was his intended target. She notes the FBI said he was 'met by superior forces' — referring to her son Daniel and her husband Mark, who she says he did not expect.
With what you've been through, how do you keep going and put on the robe every day?
Judge Salas explains that when someone sacrifices their life for you, you don't squander yours. She says her son's ultimate act of love was taking that bullet, and that gift of life motivates her to keep banging the drum that something awful is happening.
Judge Jones, you've gotten threats for some decisions but not others — where do you think the line is?
Judge Jones says there's no rhyme or reason to it. He notes the most frightening threats come from people who haven't alerted authorities ahead of time — the person who comes out of nowhere. He distinguishes legitimate criticism of judges from dog whistles that might cause unbalanced people to take up arms.
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