King County courthouse logs more than 50 security reports in 2026, including judge assault

More than 50 security incident reports have been filed at the King County Courthouse so far in 2026, including an assault on a judge in their courtroom.

The King County Council’s Government Accountability and Oversight Committee heard Tuesday from the county’s presiding judge and the court’s Facilities and Security Manager about assaults and harassment targeting judges and jurors. Councilmember Claudia Balducci also described being assaulted outside the courthouse.

In September, a woman had part of her face bitten off not far from the courthouse.

Judge struck with shoe in King County Courthouse courtroom

Facilities and Security Manager Adam Keller told the committee a judge was assaulted this past April.

“A juvenile offender was able to move from the counsel table around the bench and strike this judge in the head with a shoe,” Keller said. “We have some concerns about the courtroom design, especially on the lower level courtrooms 1A and 1B. There is no secured emergency egress for judges or court staff who need to leave that building during an emergency.”

Keller also described threatening messages and attempted doxing targeting judges, a litigant livestreaming outside an attorney’s home, and an attempted assault on a juror outside the courthouse along 3rd Avenue.

“This juror was making his way to the transit station, and from my understanding, a random individual ran up, feigned a punch at this juror, nearly missed, and left,” Keller said. “It did leave this juror very shaken up. He did return to jury service the next day, and was excused because of this incident.”

Jurors raise concerns about courthouse safety

King County Presiding Superior Court Judge Averil Rothrock told the committee jurors have expressed concerns about their safety.

“It comes up a lot during [jury selection] when the judges are talking with people. We conduct [jury selection] remotely, so the jurors usually get to answer questions about their qualifications to serve from home, and then if they get selected, they come downtown,” she said. “The jurors are concerned; they also have concerns about how to get here and where to park. But the safety issues come to the fore, and then what will happen is we just jurors will drop out.”

Balducci describes assault outside courthouse

Balducci told the committee she was recently assaulted outside the courthouse while recovering from a broken foot.

“There was a woman outside. She was having some kind of event, mental health probably related, and she just sort of zeroed in on me and came over and grabbed me, right? Physically grabbed me, and normally I would just keep walking, right? I would have extricated myself and kept going, but I couldn’t because I was afraid if I pulled away from her, I would end up falling down and hurting myself,” Balducci said.

“The deputy who was assigned outside at the moment […] came over and just sort of like gently put his hand on her shoulders, called her by her name,” she continued. “She’s apparently a regular out there, and she turned on him, like, ‘Don’t you touch me,’ sort of thing. And then she let go of me, so I was able to move on.”

Committee chair Pete von Reichbauer said some of his staff members have been assaulted while walking to lunch.

“It’s insane what’s happened,” he said. “It’s insane what’s been accepted.”

Courthouse entrance, repairs and security improvements discussed

Balducci wants the courthouse’s 4th Avenue entrance reopened. The entrance closed for repairs in 2023, but budget issues have prevented its reopening.

Council members also suggested using a jury questionnaire or public survey to gather more information about prospective jurors’ safety concerns. They made clear those concerns do not excuse anyone from jury duty.

Balducci also wants a long-term plan for the entire county courthouse campus to guide spending on repairs and security improvements.

Rothrock agreed to explore additional data collection with her colleagues.

The committee took no action Tuesday.

Frank Lenzi is the News Director for KIRO Newsradio. Read more of his stories here.

Follow @FrankLenziKIRO