Abortion cases illustrate Chief Justice’s concerns about ‘serious threats’ against judges

Recent comments from Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts criticized rhetoric from both sides of the aisle, saying it has led to threats against justices and judges — and this has been plainly seen in cases involving abortion.

Key Takeaways:

• Roberts harshly criticized multiple political figures for their statements encouraging violence against judges.

• One of the people Roberts seemed to be referencing was Senator Chuck Schumer, who publicly said that Justices Brett Kavanaugh and Neal Gorsuch should “pay the price” for their positions on a Louisiana abortion case.

• Kavanaugh was the target of an attempted assassination after the overturning of Roe v. Wade.

• Pro-abortion extremists have leaked the personal information of other pro-life Supreme Court justices to the public, including the schools their children attended.

• Death threats have also been made against judges in lower courts who were involved with abortion-related cases.

The Details:

Speaking at a judicial conference, Roberts criticized comments coming from figures on both sides of the political aisle against judges for how they ruled in various cases. While it isn’t unusual for judges or rulings to be criticized, the threats have become much more direct in recent years as the rhetoric and the court decisions have contributed to intense reactions.

Roberts pointed out that threats of violence against judges are on the rise.

“It becomes wrapped up in the political dispute that a judge who’s doing his or her job is part of the problem,” Roberts said, adding that anyone “expressing a high degree of hostility to the court, on whatever basis” could be problematic.

He added:

And the danger, of course, is somebody might pick up on that.

And we have had, of course, serious threats of violence and murder of judges just simply for doing their work. So I think the political people on both sides of the aisle need to keep that in mind.

If you think the law is being not followed, you can address that legislatively. But threatening the judges for doing their job is totally unacceptable.

He noted, “I’ve been compelled for the past few years to make statements about people on the one side of the aisle, their views on judges, and on the other side. It’s not politically associated in any way with one side or the other.”

Roberts made these remarks a day after the Court released several decisions at the end of its term.

The Background:

At a pro-abortion rally in 2020, Senator Chuck Schumer made what appeared to be threats toward two Supreme Court justices regarding a ruling on a Louisiana law requiring abortionists to have admitting privileges.

“I want to tell you, Gorsuch. I want to tell you, Kavanaugh. You have released the whirlwind, and you will pay the price,” he shouted. “You won’t know what hit you if you go forward with these awful decisions.”

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WATCH: Democrat Senator Chuck Schumer threatens U.S. Supreme Court Justices Neil Gorsuch and Brett Kavanaugh. "You have released the whirlwind and you will pay the price! You won't know what hit you if you go forward with these awful decisions!"

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6:43 PM · Mar 4, 2020

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A day after these remarks, Schumer said he “should not have used the words” that he used.

After the draft decision of Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization was leaked in May of 2022 showing that the Court was likely set to overturn Roe v. Wade, threats against Supreme Court justices grew worse than ever. Abortion activists made no attempt to hide their violent intentions.

The pro-abortion group “Ruth Sent Us” doxxed pro-life justices, organizing protests in front of their homes and making threats against two of the justices’ children. They published explicit directions on how to get to the school attended by Justice Amy Coney Barrett’s children, and targeted Justice Brett Kavanaugh’s wife, Ashley, by tagging her in a tweet of a photo taken outside her children’s school. Pro-abortion journalist Caroline Reilly encouraged more violence upon seeing attacks against the pro-life movement, writing on social media, “[M]ore of this. [M]ay these people never know a moment of peace or safety until they rot in the ground.”

The violent rhetoric culminated in an assassination attempt against Justice Kavanuagh.

Nicholas John Roske traveled to Kavanaugh’s home with the direct intention of killing him as punishment for overturning Roe. He was arrested with a Glock 17 with two magazines and ammunition, pepper spray, a tactical knife, a hammer, a screwdriver, a crowbar, zip ties and duct tape, and more. His intention was to first kill Kavanaugh, and then himself.

Disturbingly, Ruth Sent Us downplayed the attack afterwards.

Zoom Out:

The attack on Kavanaugh is not the only instance of violence or threats against a pro-life judge.

Matthew Kacsmaryk, a Texas judge, received numerous death threats as he presided over an abortion pill case in March of 2023. He was forced to reveal this was taking place after he was criticized for closing the courtroom.

“[E]lements of this case have brought a barrage of death threats and protesters and the rest. I don’t want that to disrupt your presentation to the court,” he said in a conference call with attorneys.

In a message to journalists, he said, “This is not a gag order but just a request for courtesy given the death threats and harassing phone calls and voicemails that this division has received. We want a fluid hearing with all parties being heard. I think less advertisement of this hearing is better.”

In November of the same year, Alice Marie Pence was arrested for making threats against Kacsmaryk.

“Pence made an interstate telephone call from the Middle District of Florida to the chambers of a United States district judge in the Northern District of Texas. In the voicemail, Pence demanded the judge ‘make the right decision’ about a pending case over which the judge was presiding,” a Department of Justice (DOJ) press release said. Pence reportedly also sent messages to Kacsmaryk telling him to “watch out for the red dot on your forehead.”

Dolly Kay Patterson also was arrested for making threats against Kacsmaryk in April of 2023, though she wasn’t arrested until earlier this year. In this instance, Kacsmaryk’s life wasn’t the only one threatened; she also included his children, e-mailing, “Tell this antiabortion judge he needs to watch his back — and that of his kids — the rest of his life!”

The Bottom Line:

The threats and violence from abortion activists have not only been directed towards judges, particularly since Roe fell. The majority of violence since Dobbs has been perpetrated by pro-abortion activists, with a 2022 study from the Crime Prevention Research Center (CPRC) revealing that there were 22 times as many attacks against pro-life organizations as pro-abortion organizations. Between just May and September of 2022, there were 135 attacks against pro-life groups, compared to just six attacks against abortion organizations.

“The bottom line is that after the Dobbs decision was leaked, there was over 22 times more violence directed against pro-life groups than pro-choice organizations,” the CPRC said. “However, if the media is less likely to cover violence [against] pro-life organizations, the 22 times estimate will underestimate the relative violence against these groups.”

FBI Director Christopher Wray also testified before Congress that 70% of the abortion-related violence and threats after Dobbs has been directed towards the pro-life movement.

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