Trump's rhetoric breeds 'unprecedented' threats, federal judge in Seattle says

A federal judge in Seattle is calling on President Trump and his supporters to tone down hostile language toward the courts.

Lasnik said he’s speaking publicly because he is not presiding over any of the lawsuits filed in Seattle challenging Trump’s orders on everything from refugee admissions to transgender health care for minors. And while threats have always been an occasional concern, he said it’s been hard to see his newly appointed colleagues on the bench in Seattle, including Jamal Whitehead and Lauren King, targeted after they placed Trump’s executive orders on hold.

“Right away they were subject to a lot of hostility online,” Lasnik said. “I tell them, ‘I feel for you, and especially for your families.’ It’s not easy for the families to see what your reaction is, and to worry about their own safety.”

His colleague Judge John Coughenour also reported a swatting attack in which someone sent sheriff’s deputies to his home after he blocked Trump’s order ending birthright citizenship.

https://www.opb.org/article/2025/04/05/robert-lasnik-federal-judge-seattle-trump/