Ex-Supreme Court Justice Anthony Kennedy says ‘freedom is at risk’ amid attacks on judges ruling against Trump

Former U.S. Supreme Court Justice Anthony Kennedy warned Thursday that the tone of political discourse and threats to judges are undermining the ability of the U.S. to serve as an example of freedom and democracy around the world.

Kennedy, a Reagan appointee who retired in 2018 during President Donald Trump’s first term, was speaking during a virtual forum about threats to the rule of law, as he defended the role of judges in a democracy and advocated for the need to protect them and their families from threats.

“Many in the rest of the world look to the United States to see what democracy is, to see what democracy ought to be,” Kennedy said during the “Speak Up for Justice” event, one day before the current Supreme Court justices are set to deliver their final rulings of the current term.

“If they see a hostile, fractious discourse, if they see a discourse that uses identity politics rather than to talk about issues, democracy is at risk. Freedom is at risk,” he continued.

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Kennedy did not mention Trump, even as other participants expressed concern about the barrage of threats and attacks against judges for blocking key parts of the president’s political agenda during his second term, including his immigration policies, firings of federal workers and his implementation of broad-based tariffs.

But Kennedy’s remarks appeared to be sparked, at least in part, by the Trump administration’s repeated attacks against judges who have ruled against him, including some whom he appointed during his first term.

In March, Trump criticized U.S. District Court Judge James Boasberg as a “radical left lunatic” and called for his impeachment after he attempted to block the administration from removing alleged Venezuelan gang members from the U.S. under the Alien Enemies Act, a wartime presidential power Trump invoked.

Last month, Trump attacked “USA-hating” judges as “monsters who want our country to go to hell.”

Trump’s rhetoric has come alongside an uptick in threats against judges, according to POLITICO, although spokespeople for the administration have said the president is against any threats and that they would face prosecution from the Justice Department.

Kennedy said “judges must have protection for themselves and their families” and that “judges are best protected when the public and our nation realize how central they are to our discourse.” 

“We should be concerned in this country about, as I’ve already indicated, the tone of our political discourse,” he said. “Identity politics are used so that a person is characterized by his or her partisan affiliation. That’s not what democracy and civil discourse is about.”

Other participants at the forum, which featured judges from the U.S. and other countries who warned about how attacks on courts can threaten democracies, also took aim at Trump’s statement denouncing the courts.

Without mentioning Trump by name, U.S. District Judge Esther Salas, whose son was killed by a disgruntled lawyer who went to her New Jersey home in 2020, said disinformation about judges was spreading “from the top down,” with jurists attacked as “rogue” and “corrupt.”

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“Judges are rogue. Sound familiar? Judges are corrupt. Sound familiar? Judges are monsters. … Judges hate America,” Salas said. “We are seeing the spreading of disinformation coming from the top down.”

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Salas warned that the number of threats recorded against judges this year was reaching historic heights in the U.S., noting that the U.S. Marshals Service has tracked more than 400 threats against judges since January, when Trump was inaugurated.

“We’re going to break records, people, and not in a good way,” she said.

Reuters contributed to this report.