U.S. District Judg1e John McConnell has spoken publicly about a wave of death threats and harassment that followed his decision to temporarily block the Trump administration’s freeze on federal funding.

McConnell, an Obama-appointed federal judge in Rhode Island, has faced at least six threats considered credible since issuing the temporary block in 2025, The Washington Post reported. The disputed administration policy involved the suspension of trillions of dollars in federal funding.

While hostile messages became part of the judge’s daily reality, one incident stood apart.

An unsolicited pizza was delivered to McConnell’s home. Neither the judge nor anyone in his family had placed the order. When he examined the delivery details, McConnell found that the pizza had been ordered under the name Daniel Anderl.

Anderl was the 20-year-old son of New Jersey federal judge Esther Salas. He was shot and killed in July 2020 when a gunman posing as a delivery driver targeted the family’s home. The use of his name turned what might otherwise have appeared to be a prank into what McConnell understood as a deeply personal warning.

“I don’t think anything disturbed me as much as that did,” McConnell said.

Threats extended to McConnell’s family

The intimidation did not stop with the judge.

The U.S. Marshals Service informed McConnell that one death threat mentioned his wife. His daughter was also drawn into the backlash after far-right activist Laura Loomer posted criticism of the judge following his federal funding ruling.

The posts included a photograph of McConnell’s daughter and disclosed her personal information. Elon Musk, who was then leading the Trump administration’s Department of Government Efficiency, reshared Loomer’s post with his followers on X.

McConnell said he accepted that public criticism came with his position, but the involvement of his daughter affected him differently.

“I signed up for whatever, I’ll take the lumps,” he said. When the threats reached his daughter, however, McConnell said it felt as though “someone put a dagger through my heart.”

Hundreds of hostile messages reached the courthouse

McConnell’s office at the Rhode Island federal courthouse also received hundreds of angry emails and telephone calls.

One caller used profane language while questioning the judge’s authority and expressing a wish that someone would assassinate him. McConnell preserved the message on his phone and played it during his interview with The Washington Post.

The volume and tone of the messages reflected a broader concern raised by members of the judiciary: criticism of court decisions is increasingly becoming personal, with judges and their relatives facing intimidation outside the courtroom.

McConnell described that shift as particularly troubling.

“We’re just doing our job,” he said. “What’s unusual is the dehumanization, the threats, the personalization of our doing our jobs.”

Security concerns reach the Supreme Court

McConnell’s experience has emerged amid wider concerns about the safety of federal judges and Supreme Court justices.

Supreme Court Justices Elena Kagan and Amy Coney Barrett appeared on Capitol Hill seeking millions of dollars in additional security funding because of threats against their lives.

Barrett, one of three conservative justices nominated by Trump, has faced public criticism from the president after participating in decisions involving his tariff policies and plans to end birthright citizenship. During the congressional hearing, Kagan criticised attacks on judges and described such rhetoric as “dangerous.”

The cases point to a growing security challenge for the judiciary. Judges are expected to decide politically sensitive disputes without fear or favour, yet the consequences of those rulings are increasingly following them beyond court buildings and into their homes.

For McConnell, the unsolicited pizza appeared designed to evoke a real judicial killing and remind him that his family could be reached. The threats against his wife and the exposure of his daughter’s personal information reinforced that sense of vulnerability.

White House rejects link between criticism and threats

The White House dismissed the suggestion that Trump’s public comments about judges should be equated with threatening them.

White House spokesperson Abigail Jackson called that argument “deeply unserious” and said it should be rejected. She added that Trump understood the dangers of political violence and that his administration cared about the safety of every member of the judicial branch.

That response did not resolve the broader question raised by McConnell’s experience: how political leaders, public figures and their supporters should distinguish forceful criticism from rhetoric that may expose judges to harassment or violence.

The judge’s account offers a stark picture of the personal cost. A court ruling led not only to political opposition, but also to credible threats, abusive messages and incidents involving members of his family.

For McConnell, the most unsettling part was not disagreement with his decision. It was the transformation of that disagreement into something that reached his doorstep.

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