🔗 Share this article

Donald Trump is not typically known for guidance, especially from international figures who often seek to praise and admire the US president.

But, the Central American nation's strongman president Nayib Bukele has adopted a distinct approach by urging the Trump administration to follow his example in impeaching what he terms “dishonest judges.”

The call for the president to take action against the American court system also garnered backing from Trump allies, such as an X post by former close Trump ally the billionaire, who has in the past amplified Bukele's demands to impeach US judges.

Unprecedented Risks to Court Autonomy

Analysts note that the leader's recent intervention occur of unmatched dangers to court autonomy and individual judges in the US, and during a period where the president's team is employing comparable authoritarian tactics employed by leaders in nations such as Turkey, Hungary, the Asian nation, and his native El Salvador to undermine democratic accountability.

Bukele's social media statement last week was one more in a string of taunts and claims he has leveled against the American judiciary, including a March assertion that the US was “experiencing a judicial coup,” and his mockery of a court's ruling to halt deportation flights transporting suspected undocumented individuals to his country's brutal correctional facilities.

Criticism on Federal Judge

The Salvadoran's impeachment call was also issued during social media attacks on Oregon federal judge Karin Immergut by presidential advisor Miller, former AG Bondi, Musk, and the president personally in a latest media briefing.

Immergut had ordered injunctions preventing Trump from mobilizing the national guard, first in Oregon then in California. The president has been eager to send troops into the city, which the leader has described as “war-ravaged” based on limited, non-violent protests outside the urban homeland security facility.

Record of Attacking Justices

Miller, Bondi, and the entrepreneur have a long record of attacking judges who have ruled against presidential directives or otherwise hindered the government's policy goals. Prior to returning to power this year, the president directed his supporters against judges overseeing his legal cases, who were then deluged with threats and harassment.

Watchdog organizations, police departments, and the justices have highlighted a heightened atmosphere of risks and intimidation in the months since he re-entered the White House.

Increasing Risk Data

Based on data gathered by the US Marshals Service, in 2025 through the third quarter, there were 562 incidents to 395 US justices, leading to 805 investigations. This year has already eclipsed 2022, and 2024, and is likely to exceed 2023's high of 630 threats.

The dangers are not just happening at the federal level. Data from the university's Bridging Divides Initiative indicates that there have been at least 59 instances of threats, harassment, stalking, or violence directed against judges on the local level in the current year.

Analyst Analysis on Threat Sources

Specialists say that the threats are a product of the language coming from top government officials.

In spring, the watchdog group published a detailed report alleging that “harmful and highly irresponsible statements from White House allies and supporters align with escalating violent posts on social media.” It noted “a 54% increase in demands for impeachment and physical intimidation against judges across digital networks from January to February 2025, the first full month of Trump’s administration.”

Heidi Beirich, the co-founder of the organization, said: “The president's threats against judges have certainly fueled online vitriol at judges and demands for impeachment. Targeting the courts is another move in Trump’s advance towards authoritarianism.”

Global Authoritarian Playbook

This progression towards autocracy has been well-trodden in the past decade in several countries, including by the Salvadoran.

In 2021, right after starting a second term in the face of constitutional prohibitions, the president's allies in congress voted to remove the country’s attorney general and five judges on the constitutional court. The judges, who had angered him by ruling against coronavirus measures, were replaced by replacements selected by Bukele.

The move echoed Viktor Orbán’s overhaul of Hungary’s court system several years back; Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s judicial purges recently; and efforts at similar moves in the Middle Eastern state and Poland.

Undermining Court Autonomy

Analysts explain that the threats and verbal assaults in the US can be seen as attempts to undermine court autonomy in a structure that offers no easy way for the executive to remove judges the administration opposes.

Leonard, an associate professor at the university who has studied democratic decline in democracies, said the White House had learned from the models set by strongmen abroad.

“The government is looking around at these successes and setbacks. They know they’re not going to be able to enact any laws that would undermine the judiciary,” she said.

Citing instances such as Miller’s relentless claims of nearly limitless presidential authority, she noted: “They directly criticize the courts by stating repeatedly that it is not a equal branch in the separation of powers.

“They persist in redefine the discussion by emphasizing their argument that the executive has greater authority than this other co-equal branch, which is not how separation powers work.”

The professor said: “Judges' only protection is people’s belief in the authority of their ability to make those decisions. Personal intimidation on top of weakening institutional legitimacy may make judges think twice about judgments that go against the current administration, which is, of course, highly concerning for court oversight and for the political system.”

Coercion Methods

Kim Lane Scheppele, professor of sociology and international affairs at Princeton University, has written about the use of “autocratic legalism” by the such as Orbán and Putin, and has warned about escalating threats to judges in the US.

She highlighted a series of termed “pizza doxxings” recently, in which judges have received unsolicited pizza deliveries with the recipient listed as a name, the son of Judge Esther Salas, who was murdered at the judge’s home in several years ago by a assailant aiming at the judge.

“Everyone knows what it means. ‘We know where you live. We’re coming for you,’” Scheppele said.

“Federal judges are protected by the Secret Service and the Marshals Service. And these are specialized police units that are placed institutionally inside the federal agency. And the former AG has been spearheading the criticism on justices.”

Government Goals

On the government's objectives, the expert said that “impeaching a federal judge is highly not going to happen because it’s very difficult to do. {Right now|Currently