Supreme Court Justice Amy Coney Barrett details post-Roe death threats

Supreme Court Justice Amy Coney Barrett, along with fellow justice Elena Kagan, testified before Congress about the ongoing threats to the court.

Key Takeaways:

• In 2022, a draft opinion in the Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization Supreme Court case was leaked, which revealed that Roe v. Wade would be overturned.

• Abortion groups launched a campaign of violence and hatred against the justices, which included doxxing, threats made against their children, and an assassination attempt.

• The justices did not change the ruling, and Roe was overturned.

• Barrett and Kagan recently testified before Congress after an increase in funding was requested to provide better security for the justices.

The Backstory:

In May of 2022, a draft opinion from the Supreme Court in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization was leaked, and revealed that Roe v. Wade would be overturned. Pro-abortion protests immediately began taking place, many of them violent and threatening.

Pro-abortion group Ruth Sent Us doxxed the pro-life Supreme Court justices, releasing their home addresses publicly on TikTok, and organizing protests in front of their homes. Justice Amy Coney Barrett was specifically targeted, with the school her children attend being posted publicly, and groups encouraged pro-abortion activists to “protest at Barrett’s cul-de-sac every Thursday” and help “fend off her hostile, racist neighbors.”

Another tweet was addressed to Ashley Kavanaugh, Justice Brett Kavanaugh’s wife, featuring a photo in front of their children’s school. The activists used violent language, and promised “revolution,” “revenge,” and a “summer of rage” if Roe was overturned. Frequently, the activists said that if abortion wasn’t safe, pro-lifers wouldn't be either.

Pro-abortion journalist Caroline Reilly publicly encouraged such rhetoric, 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.”

According to 18 U.S.C. §1507, it is illegal to picket or parade near a residence occupied by a judge with the intent of “interfering with, obstructing, or impeding the administration of justice, or with the intent of influencing any judge, juror, witness, or court officer, in the discharge of his duty.” Yet Senate testimony revealed that the Biden administration discouraged U.S. Marshals from making any arrests, specifically calling it a "last resort."

One of the worst crimes was an assassination attempt against Justice Kavanaugh. Nicholas Roske was arrested in Kavanaugh's Maryland neighborhood carrying burglary tools, a gun, a knife, pepper spray, and other gear. He specifically said his reasoning for the attempt was anger over the fall of Roe.

Last summer, Chief Justice John Roberts said there has been an epidemic of threats being issued against justices on both sides of the aisle. “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 dangerous.

The Details:

The Supreme Court recently requested an increase in funding for security, and Justices Barrett and Kagan both testified about the increase in threats being made in recent years. The chief of the U.S. Capitol Police likewise testified that threats against Congress are up 50% since 2025.

“For some of us, those threats have come very close, and all of us live with the knowledge that they may again materialize," Kagan said.

Barrett agreed, and described how her having to wear protective gear is affecting her children:

"I carried it into my house, put it into my bedroom, dropped it down on a table, turned around, and my 12-year-old son was standing in the doorway of my bedroom, and he wanted to know what it was and why I had it. I didn’t know how to respond 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 likewise said her neighborhood has become victims of "swatting" attacks.

"My teenage son, one of my teenage sons, opened the door to go out with friends and saw in our street, it was full of police cars, who had responded to a false report of gunshots and raised voices in my home. 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."

Kagan added that the increase in threats isn't only affecting the Supreme Court, and that the number of cyberthreats have increased as well.

"We haven’t suffered the kind of paralyzing attacks that some of the lower courts have, but in seeing that, that has caused us to try to ramp up very quickly our cybersecurity protection, and so some of the funding that we’re seeking is for additional cybersecurity experts," she explained.

The Bottom Line:

It is long past time for the government to act, and provide proper security for the Supreme Court... something that should have been done in 2022 when the justices were victims of pro-abortion violence and outrage.