Senator Susan Collins, R-Maine, has cautioned that inflammatory language directed at the Supreme Court and its justices could lead to violence and erode public trust. During a subcommittee hearing focused on increasing the security budget for the U.S. Supreme Court, Collins asserted that "overheated language" aimed at the judiciary "could in fact trigger violence."
Collins expressed dismay at remarks made by public officials from across the political spectrum, which she described as personal and political attacks on the court. She appeared to reference a 2020 comment by then-Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., who warned conservative Justices Brett Kavanaugh and Neil Gorsuch that they would "pay the price" for their decisions on abortion rights, suggesting they had "released the whirlwind."
"Other public officials have called the court corrupt, out of control, and serving an extremist agenda," Collins stated, emphasizing that such rhetoric "endangers the lives of the justices and erodes public trust in our system of government."
Supreme Court Justices Amy Coney Barrett and Elena Kagan testified before Congress about a significant increase in threats and political attacks. Kagan highlighted that for some justices, these threats have "come very close" and that all live with the possibility of future incidents. They requested a budget increase of approximately $14 million.
This funding would support an additional six security agents for each justice and 25 more officers for the Supreme Court building. Barrett and Kagan are the first justices to testify before Congress on security matters since 2019. Schumer later apologized for his 2020 remarks after Chief Justice John Roberts deemed them "inappropriate" and "dangerous."