After Years Of Swatting And Bomb Threats, SCOTUS Justices Ask Congress For More Security

Interesting amy coney barrett, elena kagan, funding, united states supreme court admin July 17, 2026 0 Comments

After Years Of Swatting And Bomb Threats, SCOTUS Justices Ask Congress For More Security

Supreme Court Justices Amy Coney Barrett and Elena Kagan testified in front of a House Appropriations subcommittee Tuesday about the high court’s request to raise its funding from $44 million to a total of $207 million in fiscal year 2027.

The justices cited data from the U.S. Marshals Service on a rise in threats to judges across the U.S., including those on the Supreme Court. They discussed their own experiences with threats and their need to increase security personnel. They will also be testifying in front of the Senate later today at 2 p.m. (RELATED: Congress Plans To ‘Rein In’ Birth Tourism Scams After SCOTUS Ruling)

Barrett testified about some of the personal threats she had received directly after the Dobbs decision, leading to her being sent home with a bulletproof vest.

“Maybe I lack imagination, but I didn’t expect that performing this service was going to put me in the position of explaining to my children what a bulletproof vest was and why I had to wear one,” Barrett said.

She also referenced a situation where she was doxed at the end of May. Someone reported hearing gunshots and raised voices in her house. Local police showed up, and the Supreme Court police, already at her house, informed them the call was false.

While the justices said they mainly wanted to increase funding for more Supreme Court police, they also mentioned the need for enhanced cybersecurity and building security.

Justice Kagan said that threats last fiscal year rose by 25 percent, and the justices expect threats to rise by 38 percent this year, based on the U.S. Marshals Service data.

“For some of us, those threats have come very close,” Kagan said. “And all of us live with the knowledge that they may again materialize.

The justices claimed they needed an increase in Supreme Court police so they would not have to delegate other security tasks to the U.S. Marshals.

“We are each assigned between four and eight members of a security detail,” Barrett said. “But in particular moments and when the need arises, especially if someone is under a particular threat or if they’re speaking more publicly, so they’re more in the limelight at an event, that number increases.”

Barrett said it was “Unfortunately necessary for protection and daily activities to have a security detail.”