Federal Judge who blocked Trump funding freeze received credible death threats

U.S. District Judge John McConnell, the chief federal judge in Rhode Island, has been targeted with credible death threats after issuing a temporary block on the Trump administration’s sweeping freeze of trillions of dollars in federal funding in 2025.

As reported by The Washington Post, the threats against McConnell, appointed by Barack Obama, have escalated to deeply personal and alarming levels. In one incident,

On another occasion, an unsolicited pizza was sent to his house under the alias "Daniel Anderl," son of New Jersey federal Judge Esther Salas, who was murdered at her house in 2020 by an assailant pretending to be a FedEx employee. According to the Post, McConnell said: "I don't think anything disturbed me as much as that did."

The U.S. Marshals Service has confirmed that there have been at least six credible threats on the life of McConnell, some of which even referred to his wife. Hundreds of abusive calls and messages have also been made to the judge from his courthouse office, including voice messages threatening him with assassination.

Laura Loomer, a far-right activist, made insulting comments on social media about the rulings of Judge McConnell and even posted a photograph of his daughter along with her personal details. At that time, Elon Musk, head of the DOGE of the Trump administration, retweeted Loomer's post to his millions of followers.

McConnell’s experience indicates a broader security crisis facing the federal judiciary, as judges increasingly become targets of political violence and intimidation. Last month, Supreme Court Justices Elena Kagan and Amy Coney Barrett appeared before Congress to request additional funding for security amid threats to their lives.

For now, the White House declined to address the threats, with a spokesperson stating that suggesting Trump’s rhetoric equates to threats is “deeply unserious.”