By The newspaper
03 Apr 2024, 18:39 PM EDT
It often happens that a judge receives a threat from a dissatisfied plaintiff, an angry defendant, or a criminal seeking revenge. The impact is usually minimal due to the infrequency and isolated nature of these events.
It is not the same when the source of the intimidation is a presidential candidate whose purpose is to mobilize his followers to pressure the magistrates in their decisions in order to prevent the normal functioning of justice.
This is unfortunately the case with Donald Trump. The former president, faithful to his disruptive behavior of institutional processes, now points to the judges who have in their hands four cases with a total of 91 serious charges ranging from fraud in his businesses to sabotaging the result of an election and misappropriating documents. presidential.
The Republican turned the courts into another part of the presidential campaign, thus the judges – his relatives – and prosecutors became political rivals who are not safe from threats and insults through social networks to raise indignation in his base.
Neither the judges appointed by Republican presidents who today are prosecuting the invaders of Congress are spared from the wrath of Trump, January 6, 2020. The classification of those accused as hostages, patriots and political prisoners is intended to exacerbate the spirits of their followers.
An analysis by the Reuters agency estimates that from June 2015 to today, threats to judges, federal prosecutors, justice personnel and court buildings have tripled. Between the end of 2020 and 2023, intimidation of federal judges increased from 220 to 457. 57 federal prosecutors were also threatened according to the Department of Justice.
Judge Tanya Chutkan handling the election interference case is under 24-hour protection due to threats from Trump supporters.
In the intimidation, the same expressions are repeated and the same language that Trump uses to disparage the actions of judicial officials is used.
The goal is to denigrate and pervert the judicial system just as it has done with the presidency and Congress through its influence on the Republican caucus. The unacceptable and condemnable becomes commonplace under Trump.
Although it is not very common to imprison those who threaten judges, some were convicted who reached the level of aggressiveness of the former president who goes so far as, for example, to slander the daughter of a judge.
The judicial system needs impartial independent judicial authorities.
The intimidation by Trump and his followers wants to destroy the credibility of justice and give a new cloak of immunity to those who believe they are above the law.