---
title: "Kagan and Barrett tell Congress threats against the justices are rising sharply"
description: "In a rare appearance before Congress, Supreme Court Justices Elena Kagan and Amy Coney Barrett described a sharp rise in threats against the justices and asked lawmakers for more security funding, with Kagan saying that for some of them the threats 'have come very close.'"
category: "U.S."
category_url: https://herald.la/category/us
author: "Omar Haddad"
published: 2026-07-14T16:56:00.000Z
updated: 2026-07-14T16:56:00.000Z
canonical: https://herald.la/article/kagan-and-barrett-tell-congress-threats-against-the-justices-are-rising-sharply
tags: ["supreme court", "elena kagan", "amy coney barrett", "judicial security", "congress"]
---
# Kagan and Barrett tell Congress threats against the justices are rising sharply

In a rare appearance before Congress, Supreme Court Justices Elena Kagan and Amy Coney Barrett described a sharp rise in threats against the justices and asked lawmakers for more security funding, with Kagan saying that for some of them the threats 'have come very close.'

Two Supreme Court justices went to Capitol Hill on Tuesday and made an unusual, personal case for money: they need more protection. In a rare appearance before a House appropriations subcommittee, Justices Elena Kagan and Amy Coney Barrett described a steep rise in threats against members of the court and pressed lawmakers to fund the security that has come with it.

## 'Threats have come very close'

Kagan put the danger in blunt terms. ["For some of us, those threats have come very close, and all of us live with the knowledge that they may again materialize,"](https://www.cnn.com/2026/07/14/politics/supreme-court-justices-kagan-barrett-testify-security) she told the panel. Barrett, seated beside her, said the environment for judges across the country, including at the Supreme Court, remains dangerous, telling lawmakers the threat level is "really high."

The justices, one appointed by a Democratic president and one by a Republican, made the request together, underscoring that concern over security is not a partisan matter on an otherwise sharply divided court.

## Barrett describes threats at home

Barrett made the risk concrete with episodes from her own life. She recounted a recent "swatting" incident, in which one of her teenage sons came home to a heavy police presence after someone made a false report of gunfire and a disturbance at the family's home. She also said she had been given a [bulletproof vest during a period when threats against her were "particularly intense,"](https://www.cbsnews.com/news/supreme-court-justices-amy-coney-barrett-elena-kagan-congress-security-funding-threats/) a reality she said was difficult to explain to a young child.

## The numbers, and the money

The testimony came with a budget attached. The court is [seeking more than $228 million, an increase of over $20 million, including about $14.6 million to expand security](https://www.cnn.com/2026/07/14/politics/supreme-court-justices-kagan-barrett-testify-security) provided by the Supreme Court Police. Kagan told the panel the court's police force expects a roughly [38% rise in threats this year, following a 25% increase last year](https://www.cnn.com/2026/07/14/politics/supreme-court-justices-kagan-barrett-testify-security), and CBS News reported figures showing hundreds of threats against federal judges already logged this year.

Barrett tied the surge in part to the June 2022 leak of the draft opinion overturning *Roe v. Wade*, after which threats against the justices climbed. That period also saw a man arrested near Justice Brett Kavanaugh's home carrying weapons, an episode that prompted an earlier round of security increases.

## A bipartisan reception

Members of the subcommittee from both parties signaled support for more security spending, framing the safety of judges as a basic condition for an independent judiciary. The unusual sight of two justices testifying about threats to themselves and their families captured how much the security picture around the court has changed, and how openly its members are now willing to discuss it.

## Sources

- [Justices Kagan and Barrett demand more Supreme Court security funding in rare appearance before Congress](https://www.cnn.com/2026/07/14/politics/supreme-court-justices-kagan-barrett-testify-security)
- [Supreme Court justices push Congress to boost security funding: 'Threats have come very close'](https://www.cbsnews.com/news/supreme-court-justices-amy-coney-barrett-elena-kagan-congress-security-funding-threats/)