Former Surrey Judicial Judge Anthony Kennedy

Former U.S. Supreme Court Justice Anthony Kennedy warned Thursday that political discourse and the tone of threats to judges are undermining the U.S. ability to serve as a role model for freedom and democracy around the world.

Kennedy, a Reagan-appointed man who retired in 2018 in the first term of President Donald Trump, spoke on a virtual forum about the threat to the rule of law as he defended the role of judges in democratic institutions and advocated the demands of protecting them and their families from threats.

Kennedy said “the current Supreme Court justices are all preparing for the final ruling of the current term, and Kennedy said: “Many people in the rest of the world want to see what America is to understand what democracy is and to see what it should be.” ”

He continued: “If they see a hostile, fragile discourse, if they see a discourse using identity politics instead of talking about problems, democracy is at risk. Freedom is dangerous.”

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Kennedy did not mention Trump, although other participants expressed concern about the threat and attacks on the judges, as he blocked key parts of the president’s political agenda during his second term, including his immigration policy, the firing of federal workers and his widespread tariffs.

But Kennedy’s remarks seem to be triggered at least in part by repeated attacks by the Trump administration on judges who ruled against him, including some of the men he appointed during his first term.

In March, Trump criticized U.S. District Court Judge James Boasberg as a “radical left madman” and called for impeachment for trying to prevent the administration from dismissing suspected Venezuelan gang members under the Foreign Enemy Act, the wartime president Trump.

Last month, Trump attacked the judge who “a hateful America” as a “monster who wants our country to go to hell.”

According to Politico, Trump’s remarks are related to threats to judges, although a government spokesman said the president opposed any threats and they would face a Justice Department prosecution.

Reagan-appointed Kennedy defends the role of judges in democracy and advocates protecting them and their families from threats. (Getty Image)

“Judges must provide protection for themselves and their families,” Kennedy said, “When the public and our country realize the core level of their words to ours, judges are best protected.”

“As I have already pointed out, we should worry about the tone of our political discourse in this country,” he said. “Use identity politics so that a person is characterized by his or her partisan affiliation. It’s not the meaning of democratic and civil discourse.”

Other participants on the forum introduced judges from the United States and other countries who warned about how the court attacks threatened democratic countries and also aimed at condemning the court’s Trump statement.

U.S. District Court Judge Esther Salas, whose son was killed in 2020 by a disgruntled lawyer who went to her New Jersey home in 2020, said false information about the judge was “top-down” and jurists were being attacked as “rogue” and “corruption.”

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Kennedy’s remarks seem to be caused at least in part by the Trump administration’s repeated attacks on judges who ruled against him. (Getty Image)

“Judges are hooligans. Does it sound familiar? Judges are corrupt. Does it sound familiar? Judges are monsters. … Judges hate America.” “We see the spread of false information from top to bottom.”

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Salas warned that the number of threats against judges has reached the historical heights of the United States this year, noting that the U.S. Marshal Service has tracked more than 400 threats to judges since Trump was launched in January.

“We’re going to break the record, people, not very good,” she said.

Reuters contributed to the report.