US judges faced over 4,500 threats in 2021 amid rising extremism

WASHINGTON: US federal judges were the target of more than 4,500 threats and other inappropriate communications last year, the head of the US Marshals Service said on Monday, adding that his office is concerned about the rise of domestic extremism in America.

“The increase in our judicial ... threat investigations and inappropriate comments have been going up quite frankly for a couple of years,” Ronald Davis, director of the U.S. Marshals Service, told journalists in a conference call. He said the threat risk is “growing exponentially.” Federal law enforcement officials have sounded alarm bells about a growing tide of threats posed by white supremacists and anti-government activists, many of whom have touted former Republican President Donald Trump’s false claims that the 2020 election was stolen.