Supreme Court justices tell Congress their safety is at risk and more must be spent on security

Supreme Court Justice Amy Coney Barrett told lawmakers Tuesday that a sharp increase in threats targeting her and other justices is increasingly encroaching on their personal and family lives.

During a rare appearance by justices before Congress, Barrett said she had to take a bulletproof vest home a few years ago, something she struggled to explain to her 12-year-old son.

“I didn’t expect that performing this service would put me in the position of explaining to my children what a bulletproof vest was, why I had to wear one,” she said.

She and Justice Elena Kagan testified before appropriations panels in the House and Senate in support of a request to increase security funding for members of the nation’s highest court.

Judges around the country have seen a rise in threats of violence and intimidation, including fake 911 swatting calls and pizza deliveries in the name of a judge’s murdered son.

Kagan condemned political rhetoric that turns up the temperature.

“Whatever political figure says them, whatever party that political figure is a member of, these statements are really unhelpful,” she said. “They’re dangerous in terms of individual justices’ security.”

The hearings came two weeks after the conservative-majority court finished handing down a series of major opinions, including a decision that increased President Donald Trump’s power over federal regulatory agencies and another that rejected his wide-ranging tariffs, sparking harsh personal criticism.

It was the first time justices have testified before Congress since 2019, and the two justices are faced wide-ranging questions about the court’s work.