'If We're Not Careful We're Gonna Get a Judge Killed'

Federal judge John Coughenour has needed round-the-clock protection while overseeing key cases, including that of an al-Qaeda bomber. But never before has he received as many death threats as when he ruled in a case involving President Trump. Coughenour tells CBS News he faced "dozens if not hundreds" of death threats after ruling Trump's attempt to end birthright citizenship was "blatantly unconstitutional"—and he's not the only one. In a 60 Minutes report, correspondent Bill Whitaker and producer Heather Abbott spoke with 26 current and former federal judges, appointed by both parties, who describe a sharp rise in violent threats after rulings that anger Trump or his allies.

While most judges refused to appear on camera in fear for their safety, Reagan-appointed Coughenour spoke openly of being "swatted" by armed deputies responding to a fake murder report, then hit with bomb threats on back-to-back days. "I've been at this for 44 years. I have never encountered the hostility toward the judiciary that has existed in this country in the, the last year," he tells CBS.

The US Marshals Service tracked serious threats against about 400 federal judges last year, up 78% in four years, as Trump and senior officials publicly frame some jurists as political enemies. Trump has called judges lunatics and radicals, accusing them of obstructing law enforcement and assuming the duties of the president. Retired Judge John Jones, a George W. Bush appointee, calls it an effort to "delegitimize" the courts by "a president who means to really say what the law is." He warns "if we're not careful we're gonna get a judge killed ... It's that serious." "I have a duty to call this out," adds Judge Esther Salas. "That's why I'm talking to you." For the full, on-the-record interviews, read the original piece.