More federal judges are being subjected to death threats from President Donald Trump’s base for ruling against the administration. Now, one primetime cable news host is airing one of those threats to illustrate the danger judges are facing.
During the Thursday episode of “Deadline: White House,” MSNBC host Nicolle Wallace began one segment by playing a voicemail a Trump supporter left with U.S. District Judge John McConnell of the District of Rhode Island. McConnell became nationally known after striking down Trump’s withholding of congressionally appropriated federal funding as illegal. Wallace lamented the “climate of fear for public servants” that has become “so pervasive” since Trump’s second term began. She then played the voicemail, warning viewers that it was “incredibly disturbing.”
“So you better tell little motherf—— Judge McConnell, I don’t know who the hell he thinks he is, but he stepping way over his motherf—— boundaries,” an irate man is heard saying in the voicemail. “… Tell the son of a b—- we’re going to come for him. His a– is going to prison. I double dare you to try to put charges on Donald J. Trump. You son of a b—-, okay?”
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“I wish somebody would assassinate your a–,” the voicemail continued. “Somebody needs a wipe his a– out. F—— stupid son of a b—-.”
After playing the voicemail, Wallace told viewers that she and her producers “make careful decisions about what to platform and what to amplify,” and that she wanted to “amplify that every single day to see what is in the coalition that is threatening the rule of law.” She added that it was a “slice of American political life that judges have to contend with every day when they leave their homes, or when they drop off their kids at school.” Wallace also shared with viewers that she had previously been a victim of “swatting,” in which someone calls 911 and gives law enforcement a phony tip about an active shooter or kidnapping situation at a certain address, which prompts police to storm the address in full tactical gear.
Boston Globe opinion writer Kimberly Atkins Stohr, who joined Wallace on the show, described the voicemail as “unconscionable.” She also referenced the 2020 killing of Daniel Salas — the son of U.S. District judge Esther Salas — who was shot to death by a self-proclaimed “anti-feminist lawyer” posing as a pizza delivery driver. Judge Salas’ husband, Mark Anderl, was also shot in the attack.
“I’m glad that we’re talking about it, because I think before now, people may have heard about these pizza deliveries and thought maybe they were just silly or nuisances,” she said. “No, there’s something far more serious. And judges are living under the specter of this every day.”
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Watch the segment below, or by clicking this link.
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