CHARLESTON – Attorney General JB McCuskey co-led a bipartisan letter, signed by 44 states, that was sent today to Congressional leaders. The letter requests increased funding for the security of federal judges, who are increasingly facing threats and hostile incidents targeting them, their families, and courthouse staff.
“Violence against those in our judiciary has no place in our democracy,” Attorney General McCuskey said. “Violent incidents are increasing, while funding to ensure our courthouses are safe has been frozen. We are hopeful that by working together, we can call attention to this very dangerous issue to work toward securing our courthouses for all who enter.”
Funding for the Judiciary’s Court Security program has been subject to a “hard
freeze” for two consecutive years, leaving inadequate resources to meet essential security needs at federal courthouses. The funding shortfall implicates court security officer salaries, visual and physical monitoring systems, and other aspects of courthouse security infrastructure.
Additional resources are also necessary to fund the Judiciary’s Vulnerability Management Program (VMP), which implements the Daniel Anderl Judicial Security and Privacy Act. The Anderl Act, passed in 2022 with bipartisan support, honors Daniel Anderl, the son of New Jersey District Court Judge Esther Salas, who was murdered in his home in 2020 during an attempted assassination of Judge Salas. The Anderl Act prohibits data brokers from selling judges’ personally identifiable information and enables federal judges and their family members to request that businesses and government agencies remove such information from their websites.
As the letter explains, U.S. Supreme Court Chief Justice John G. Roberts, Jr. discussed the increased threat level facing the judiciary in his 2024 year-end report. The letter notes that these trends have continued into 2025, with more than 100 judges nationwide reporting that they have been “doxxed” with unsolicited deliveries to their homes. The deliveries were intended to intimidate judges and their relatives—and disturbingly, some were placed in the name of Daniel Anderl.
The letter was co-led by West Virginia, New Jersey Attorney General Matthew J. Platkin, Pennsylvania Attorney General Dave Sunday, Attorney General of New Hampshire John Formella, and Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison.
Other states signing onto the letter are Alabama, Alaska, American Samoa, Arizona, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, District of Columbia, Florida, Georgia, Guam, Hawaii, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, North Dakota, Northern Mariana Islands, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, Puerto Rico, Rhode Island, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Vermont, Virgin Islands, Virginia, Washington, Wisconsin, and Wyoming.
Read the letter here.