Federal judges call for increased security after threats jump 400% and one judge's son is killed
Half the time someone is unhappy with a judge's ruling. The normal recourse is an appeal. But in the caustic atmosphere of today's politics, there's a real chance the disgruntled party will threaten the judge. In the last five years, threats of federal judges have jumped 400% to more than 4,000 last year – many of them death threats, sometimes ending in violence. Now, judges are breaking with tradition and publicly calling on lawmakers to provide more protection. One of the strongest voices is federal judge Esther Salas. This past July, she was at home in New Jersey, in the basement with her son Daniel, cleaning up after his 20th birthday party, when a man disguised as a FedEx driver pulled up outside.
Esther Salas: Danny turned around and he said, "Let's keep talking. I love talking to you mom." And it was at that exact moment that the doorbell rang. And before I could stop him, he just shot up the stairs. The next thing I hear is "boom." It just sounded like a mini bomb. And then I hear "no." And then I hear "boom, boom, boom." And I just screamed, "What is happening?" When I got upstairs, it was, it was something no mother should ever see.
Daniel lying bleeding by the door; Mark, her husband, on his knees holding his side. Daniel was barely clinging to life.
Esther Salas: I--I didn't even know what to do. I remember picking up his shirt and seeing the bullet hole. You know, we were screaming, "Daniel hold on" and "don't leave us." And then I just, as I think about that day I just, I realize I was watching my only child fade away.
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/federal-judge-threats-attack-60-minutes-2021-02-21/?ftag=CNM-00-10aab7d&linkId=111830217
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We get along well enough, but I've never trusted him since.
For Daniel and Mark.
