Supreme Court Justices Detail Rising Threats During Congressional Testimony
Threats have come very close Supreme – During a rare appearance before Congress on July 14, 2026, Supreme Court Justices Amy Coney Barrett and Elena Kagan addressed lawmakers about mounting security concerns facing the nation’s highest court. The justices discussed how escalating threats have fundamentally altered their daily lives and those of their families, prompting requests for additional financial resources to bolster protection measures.
Personal Impact of Security Concerns
Justice Barrett opened by describing the emotional toll these threats have taken on her household. She noted that the heightened danger has forced her children to confront realities beyond their years.
“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 told a congressional panel reviewing the court’s request for more money to address security concerns.
The Justice further explained that the increased threats have required her and her children to think about and see things that children should not have to see or think about. This personal dimension of security concerns was echoed by her account of a recent incident at her suburban Virginia residence.
Statistics on Rising Threats
Justice Kagan provided concrete numbers illustrating the trend. She reported that threats against Supreme Court justices are expected to increase 38% this year, following a 25% increase last year. For some of us, those threats have come very close, and all of us live with the knowledge that they may again materialize, Kagan said during the testimony.
One particularly alarming incident occurred in May when police received a false report about gunshots at Barrett’s home. This “swatting” attempt—where callers falsely report emergencies to dispatch large police responses—was the latest example of the increased harassment and threats the justices have faced in recent years. Barrett described how her teenage son opened their door to go out with friends and saw the street full of police cars.
Security Measures and Funding Requests
The court is asking for more money to increase the number of officers protecting the justices and their families, including at their homes. The justices began receiving around-the-clock security at their residences after Justice Brett Kavanaugh was the target of an assassination attempt in 2022.
Barrett said the goal is for the justices to have as large a security detail as those dedicated to cabinet members, in part to avoid burnout and exhaustion among the four-to-eight officers typically assigned to each justice. The court also wants to build a facility near the Supreme Court to screen visitors before they enter the building. And the court is requesting additional funding to beef up cyber security.
“The threats are constant, and they’re always there,” she said. “It’s necessary now in daily activities. I honestly feel like, for the sake of my privacy, I wish it weren’t so.”
Additional Security Challenges
Barrett mentioned that one of her sisters was the target last year of a false bomb threat. At times, threats have been serious enough that Barrett has worn a bulletproof vest. Barrett said she and other justices have also received “threatening, anonymous deliveries designed to intimidate and harass us.”
Despite the increased threats, Kagan said the justices will continue to do their jobs “as they believe legally right, adjudicating cases without fear or favor.”
Political Context and Ethics Discussion
Rep. Dave Joyce, the Ohio Republican who chairs the spending panel reviewing the budget request, opened the hearing by urging his colleagues to stay focused on the spending issues. But Maryland Rep. Steny Hoyer, the subcommittee’s top Democrat, used his opening remarks to make a political point.
Hoyer said the rule of law depends on a judiciary that is properly funded especially now when President Donald Trump is pushing his view of “executive supremacy.” “This administration is routinely engaging in conduct that tests the limits of our Constitution,” Hoyer said.
Other Democratic members of the committee asked questions about the court’s ethics code and the rise in the number of decisions being made on an expedited basis. Kagan, who has expressed support in the past for an enforcement mechanism for the ethics code the court adopted in 2023, said it’s difficult to figure out the best way to do that. “I think that this remains an open question, a question of discussion,” she said.
Barrett said that she’s “less certain” about an enforcement mechanism, saying there are a lot of complexities to adopting one. On the appeals that the court is deciding on an expedited basis, which has increased in recent years, Kagan said the justices have done a better job of explaining those decisions “at least to a moderate degree.”
