Report: Threats against judges in travel ban case
Feb 9, 2017, 7:20 PM | Updated: 10:27 pm
Judges who heard arguments Feb. 7, 2017 include: Circuit Judge Michelle T. Friedland of San Jose, Calif.; Sr. Circuit Court Judge William C. Canby of Phoenix, Ariz.; and Sr. Circuit Court Judge Richard R. Clifton of Honolulu, Hawaii.
Within hours of a decision upholding a restraining order against President Donald Trump’s travel ban, more than one judge connected to the case has received threats.
CNN reports that federal and local law enforcement officials are upping security around the judges after threats were made against them. Officials have not said how many judges were threatened, nor have they discussed specifics of the threats.
Related: Federal appeals court rules against Trump
The US Marshal’s Service has declined to speak about details of the threats, or what additional security measures have been put in place.
Travel ban and the court
The executive order — or the travel ban — at the center of the controversy aims to ban refugees from the United States, and travelers from seven predominantly Muslim countries. But the State of Washington and Minnesota have challenged the constitutionality of the order in court. First, District Court Judge James Robart ruled that the states’ case has some likelihood of success, and halted the executive order by placing a restraining order on it.
The Department of Justice appealed that decision and asked for an appeals court to knock it down. On Thursday, three judges of that appeals court did not decide in favor of Trump’s attorneys.
At each step of the way, Trump has taken to Twitter to publicly criticize the judges, claiming their decisions put the nation at risk, or “put our country in peril,” and also stating “if something happens, blame (the judge) and the court system.”
