By Chris Dickerson | Legal Newsline
West Virginia Attorney General J.B. McCuskey is co-leading a bipartisan letter sent to Congressional leaders requesting increased funding for the security of federal judges.
The Dec. 9 letter, signed by the attorneys general from 44 states, says federal judges increasingly are facing threats and hostile incidents targeting them, their families and courthouse staff.
“Violence against those in our judiciary has no place in our democracy,” 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.”
McCuskey’s office says 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.
The AGs say additional resources also are 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 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 AG letter explains, U.S. Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts 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. Some were placed in the name of Daniel Anderl.
The letter was co-led by McCuskey, New Jersey AG Matthew J. Platkin, Pennsylvania AG Dave Sunday, New Hampshire AG John Formella and Minnesota AG Keith Ellison.
Other AGs signing the letter are from 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.
This report was produced by Legal Newsline and distributed by The Center Square as part of a content-sharing agreement. Reach editor John O’Brien at john.obrien@therecordinc.com. Reach editor John O’Brien at john.obrien@therecordinc.com.