Judges who ruled against Trump say harassment and threats have changed their lives

In his almost 45 years as a federal judge, John Coughenour has seen it all, including high-profile criminal trials that put his own safety at risk. But this year, the 84-year-old senior district judge did something he hadn’t considered for a long time: He retrieved a gun he had stored at the federal courthouse in Seattle years ago and brought it back to his home in case he needed it to defend himself. Coughenour is one of dozens of federal judges who have found themselves at the center of a political maelstrom as they have ruled against President Donald Trump or spoken up in defense of the judiciary. With Trump administration officials vilifying judges who rule against the government, a wave of violent threats and harassment has often followed. On Jan 23, just three days after Trump took office, Coughenour blocked an executive order aimed at limiting birthright citizenship, calling the proposal “ blatantly unconstitutional .” He was the first of several judges to rule against the administration on the issue, which is now before the Supreme Court . “They put it before a certain judge in Seattle I guess, right? And there’s no surprises with that judge,” Trump said in the Oval Office later that same day. Coughenour was appointed by President Ronald Reagan in 1981. The negative reaction soon followed. Within days, Coughenour was “swatted,” which is when someone calls police with a false claim about a purportedly serious ongoing situation, sometimes with dangerous consequences when armed police arrive. In this instance, an anonymous person told the local sheriff’s department that the judge was barricaded into his house and had murdered his wife. Then, another caller told law enforcement there was a bomb in Coughenour’s mailbox. In both instances, local law enforcement went to his house and swiftly realized there was no genuine threat. “I’m not a gun nut,” Coughenour said in an interview. But in light of these threats, “I have armed myself.” Other judges have been targets of anonymous pizza deliveries that judges see as a form of intimidation. The U.S. Marshals Service, which has the job of protecting judges, suspects some of the deliveries could be tied to foreign actors, three sources told NBC News. As a result of the various threats and intimidation, judges have had to adapt their daily lives, according to NBC News interviews with six sitting judges, as well as former judges and others familiar with the current threat landscape. One judge moved house. Another had to freeze her credit cards after a security breach. Other judges have taken actions to adapt to the changing landscape by upgrading home security systems, changing the route they drive to work and ensuring family members limit personal information they post online, according to the current and former judges. Coughenour pointed to the Trump administration’s harsh criticism of judges , whom it has portrayed as biased and out of control. Deputy chief of staff Stephen Miller has described rulings against the president as a “...

Preview: ~500 words