Judge Reveals MAGA Death Threats After Ruling Against Trump
A federal judge has revealed the slew of death threats he received after ruling against one of Donald Trump’s policies.
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U.S. District Judge John McConnell, who was nominated to the bench by former President Barack Obama, has been the target of at least six credible death threats since he issued a temporary block on the Trump administration’s freeze on trillions of dollars in federal funding in 2025, The Washington Post reported.
In one particularly horrifying incident, a pizza was sent to the home of the chief federal judge in Rhode Island, despite neither he nor his family ordering one. McConnell then checked the name on the order and saw it was for Daniel Anderl—New Jersey U.S. District Judge Esther Salas’ 20-year-old son, who was shot and killed after a gunman posing as a FedEx driver targeted her home in July 2020.
“I don’t think anything disturbed me as much as that did,” McConnell told the Post.
The judge’s family has also been the target of MAGA attacks. The U.S. Marshals Service told McConnell that one of the death threats he received mentioned his wife.
In 2025, far-right activist Laura Loomer posted about the judge in the wake of the federal funding ruling, suggesting he had abused his judicial power.
The series of critical posts also included a photo of McConnell’s daughter and doxxed her personal information. Elon Musk, who was then heading the Trump administration’s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), reshared Loomer’s post to his massive X following.
“I signed up for whatever, I’ll take the lumps,” McConnell said, adding that “I felt like someone put a dagger through my heart” when the threats involved his own daughter.
McConnell’s office at the Rhode Island federal courthouse also received hundreds of irate emails and calls amid the MAGA backlash. The judge replayed one of the vitriolic messages he had saved on his phone for the Post.
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“You better tell little motherf—ing Judge McConnell, I don’t know who the hell he thinks he is,” the caller said. “I wish somebody would f—ing assassinate your a–.”
Trump has long been accused of inciting or encouraging threats against members of the judiciary with his unhinged rhetoric targeting Supreme Court justices and federal judges who rule against him.
Last month, Supreme Court Justices Elena Kagan and Amy Coney Barrett made a rare appearance on Capitol Hill to request millions in additional funding to enhance security because of threats against their lives.
Barrett, one of three conservative justices nominated to the Supreme Court by Trump, has frequently felt the president’s wrath after ruling against him in high-profile decisions involving Trump’s tariffs and plans to end birthright citizenship.
During the hearing, Kagan lashed out at Trump’s frequent attacks on the Supreme Court and federal judges who rule against him, accusing the president of using “dangerous” rhetoric.
“We’re just doing our job,” McConnell told the Post. “What’s unusual is the dehumanization, the threats, the personalization of our doing our jobs.”
In a statement, White House spokesperson Abigail Jackson said that trying to suggest Trump sharing his thoughts about judges is akin to making threats is “deeply unserious and should be dismissed by anyone with half a brain.”
“No one understands the dangers of political violence more than President Trump,” she added. “The Trump administration cares deeply for the safety of all members of the Judicial Branch.”
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The Daily Beast has contacted the White House for further comment.
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