Supreme Court Justice Amy Coney Barrett told lawmakers in a hearing Tuesday that the threat level to the federal judiciary across the country had reached new heights, and detailed security incidents she’d personally experienced.
Barrett was joined by Justice Elena Kagan in a rare appearance by members of the Supreme Court at a congressional hearing. The duo delivered the court’s request to the House and Senate Appropriations Subcommittees for a significant increase in funds to bolster security.
Barrett said the number of threats against Supreme Court justices has increased by 38% this year, statistics that she noted “sound abstract,” but “being on the receiving end of them is not.”
She described having to explain to her young son why she brought home a bulletproof vest in 2022 after Justice Samuel Alito’s draft opinion in Dobbs v. Jackson was leaked.
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“I didn’t know how to respond,” Barrett said, “because, maybe I lack imagination, but I didn’t expect that performing this service was going to put me in the position of explaining to my children what a bulletproof vest was and why I had to wear one.”
She also recounted a swatting incident in late May, when law enforcement received a false report of gunshots and raised voices coming from her home. Barrett said one of her sons opened the front door to see a street full of police cars.
“I was very very grateful that I had Supreme Court police outside my home, because they were able to stop and meet with and explain to the county police that it had been a false alarm, and so the police did not actually attempt to enter our home,” Barrett said.
Barrett also talked about receiving anonymous packages sent in the name of Daniel Anderl, the 20-year-old son of U.S. District Judge Esther Salas. Anderl was fatally shot by a disgruntled lawyer aiming to kill his mother.
Of the $228 million in funds that the Supreme Court requested for the 2027 fiscal year, the budget proposal indicated that about $14.6 million will go toward adding six agents to each of the justices’ security detail and 25 police officers to protect the courthouse, according to a proposal. The federal courts also requested $2 million to create a new command post for off-site residential security and $2.3 million to enhance cybersecurity capabilities.
The Supreme Court’s funding needs have grown by about 15% a year over the last five fiscal years — which has “been almost entirely for security expenses,” Kagan said.
The hearings were the first time since 2019 that Supreme Court justices appeared before the Appropriations Subcommittees. It was also the first public appearance by justices since the conclusion of its most recent term, which included decisions on birthright citizenship, transgender athletes and executive power.
Rep. Steny Hoyer (D-Maryland) took the opportunity to ask questions about the transparency of the court’s emergency docket, which allows justices to fast-track cases with limited oral arguments and oftentimes little explanation.
Kagan acknowledged the concerns but pushed back on calling it a “shadow docket,” noting that the court has elaborated upon its decisions when appropriate.
In the Senate hearing, Sen. Jack Reed (D-Rhode Island) read statements from President Donald Trump about the Supreme Court after a ruling against his tariff policy. Kagan weighed in, despite not being asked for comment by Reed.
“Wherever these come from, whatever political figure says them, whatever party that political figure is a member of, these statements are really unhelpful,” Kagan said. “They’re dangerous in terms of individual justice’s security, and they’re not appropriate in the way to treat a coordinate branch of government.”
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