N.J. Attorney General co-leads bipartisan push for more federal judge security funding
TRENTON, N.J. — Attorney General Matthew J. Platkin on Wednesday announced he is co-leading a bipartisan coalition of 47 states urging Congress to increase security funding for federal judges amid what officials describe as a sharp rise in threats targeting judges, their families and courthouse staff.
“As threats against federal judges reach all-time highs, Congress must take immediate action to protect our federal judges, their families, and court staff. Our experience in New Jersey—including the tragic murder of Judge Esther Salas’s son, Daniel Anderl—is a painful reminder of the critical and urgent need for this funding,” Platkin said in a statement. “I am proud to lead a broad bipartisan coalition of attorneys general in urging Congress to provide this essential funding. And I am grateful for the immense courage of those like Judge Salas who continue to stand for justice despite the threats against them—threats that no public servant should ever have to endure.”
The letter to Congressional leaders cites two years of “hard freeze” budget limitations on the Judiciary’s Court Security program, which officials say has left federal courthouses without adequate resources for security officers, monitoring systems and other security infrastructure.
The coalition is also pressing for increased funding for the Judiciary’s Vulnerability Management Program, created under the Daniel Anderl Judicial Security and Privacy Act. The federal law—passed in 2022 after the murder of Judge Salas’s son—restricts the sale and publication of judges’ personal information and allows judges and their families to request its removal from government and commercial websites.
According to the letter, threats against judges have continued to escalate into 2025, with more than 100 judges reporting that they have been doxxed and received unsolicited, intimidating deliveries—some disturbingly sent under Daniel Anderl’s name.
New Jersey has enacted its own protections through “Daniel’s Law,” signed in 2020, which extends privacy safeguards to judges, prosecutors and law enforcement officers. The Attorney General’s Office continues to defend the law against challenges in state and federal courts.
Platkin co-led the letter with attorneys general from Pennsylvania, New Hampshire, Minnesota and West Virginia. Other signatories include nearly every state and territory, from Alaska to the Virgin Islands.
