The Committee on the Judiciary is investigating the politicization of federal law enforcement agencies and the intimidation of Supreme Court justices following the leak of a draft opinion in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization in May 2022.
Chairman Jim Jordan (R-OH) recently addressed a letter to the Director of the U.S. Marshals Service, Ronald L. Davis, requesting documents and information relating to the matter.
According to the letter, radical left-wing groups engaged in prolonged harassment and intimidation campaigns outside justices’ homes, with one group, Ruth Sent Us, publishing the home addresses of six justices and fomenting organized harassment at those residences.
Some activists shouted “no privacy for us, no peace for you,” while others offered bounties for the “location of the six Supreme Court Justices who voted to overturn Roe v. Wade.”
The letter highlights the seriousness of the threats, stating that in June 2022, a man showed up to the home of Justice Kavanaugh with a handgun, a tactical knife, pepper spray, zip ties, a hammer, and other gear to “remove some people from the Supreme Court” in order to “stop Roe v. Wade from being overturned.”
The man hoped to assassinate as many as three justices because, in his own words, if “there are more liberal than conservative judges, they will have the power.”
Despite these actions clearly violating federal law, the letter alleges that there have been no arrests or charges for agitators demonstrating outside of the justices’ homes.
Training slides provided to the U.S. Marshals instructed them “to avoid, unless absolutely necessary, any criminal enforcement,” and stated that “making arrests and initiating prosecutions is not the goal,” that arrests of protestors should be a “last resort” and would be “counter-productive.”
Chairman Jordan expressed concern over these directives, which appear to contradict Attorney General Garland’s previous statements to Congress that Marshals had “full authority” to make arrest decisions.
Rep. Jordan notes that these tactics are meant to intimidate conservative justices and ultimately undermine judicial independence.
In order to conduct its oversight, the Judiciary Committee has requested several documents and communications relating to the enforcement of 18 U.S.C. § 1507.
They have requested this information to be provided by 5:00 p.m. on May 17, 2023.
Read the full letter below:
