Chief Justice: 'Personally directed hostility is dangerous, and it's got to stop'
Chief Justice: 'Personally directed hostility is dangerous, and it's got to stop'
DEVIN DWYERTue, March 17, 2026 at 8:44 PM UTC
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In a rare public appearance, Chief Justice John Roberts on Tuesday addressed criticism of the Supreme Court, the federal judiciary and individual judges, saying "personally directed hostility is dangerous, and it's got to stop."
Roberts spoke generally about attacks on courts and judges, which have surged in recent years, during a conversation with U.S. District Court Judge Lee Rosenthal at the Baker Institute at Rice University.
He did not address any specific criticism or controversy, though the comments come at a time of heightened scrutiny of the court's recent landmark decisions on presidential power.
Andrew Caballero-reynolds/AFP via Getty Images - PHOTO: Donald Trump shakes hands with Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts as he arrives to deliver his State of the Union address in the House Chamber of the US Capitol in Washington, DC, on February 24, 2026.
"It does come with the territory," Roberts said of criticism. "It can very much be healthy. We don't believe that we're flawless in any way. It is important that -- important that our decisions are subjected to scrutiny, and they are. The problem sometimes is that the criticism can move from a focus on legal analysis to personalities."
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Violent threats against individual judges and justices have spiked, according to law enforcement officials. Four years ago, a man was arrested outside the home of Justice Brett Kavanaugh with the intention of assassinating him. He was later convicted and sentenced to eight years in prison.
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Roberts was careful to say that no "one political perspective" is responsible for the threats, but that as they become more "personal" they "can be actually quite dangerous."
"Judges around the country work very hard to get it right," he said, "and if they don't, their opinions are subject to criticism. But personally directed hostility is dangerous, and it's got to stop."
The remarks came on the heels of a fresh wave of criticism of the Supreme Court from President Donald Trump, who has accused Roberts and several of his peers -- some of whom Trump appointed to the court -- of being "disloyal" and "unpatriotic" after they ruled against his sweeping global tariffs program. Trump alleged on Monday that the court is a "weaponized and unjust political organization" that is "hurting our country."
Trump has also singled out U.S. District Judge James Boasberg for intense criticism after Boasberg on Friday blocked the Justice Department’s subpoenas of Fed Chair Jerome Powell as part of a criminal investigation into his handling of a multibillion-dollar renovation of the Federal Reserve Building.
Last year, Trump called for Boasberg's impeachment after the judge temporarily blocked the administration's fast-tracked deportations to Venezuela. The comments prompted a rare public response at the time from Roberts, who said in a statement that impeachment was not an appropriate recourse for a losing party in a case.
Overall, Trump has had a favorable track record at the high court during the first year of his second term, winning nearly every emergency request of permission to move forward with controversial policies being litigated in lower courts. He has also benefitted from a 2025 landmark ruling that limited the ability of judges to issue nationwide injunctions and a sweeping 2024 decision granting presidential immunity from criminal prosecution.
"I actually try not to read outside criticism too much," Roberts told Rosenthal. "And it's, you know, just because you're on to something else, and you don't want to worry too much about -- you've done your best and that's all you can do."
Source: “AOL Breaking”
