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Donald Trump is not typically known for guidance, especially from foreign leaders who often attempt to praise and compliment the American leader.

However, the Central American nation's strongman president Nayib Bukele has adopted a distinct approach by urging the White House to follow his example in removing what he terms “dishonest judges.”

His appeal for the president to move against the US judiciary also received support from Maga figures, including an X post by one-time supporter Elon Musk, who has in the past amplified Bukele's demands to oust US judges.

Unprecedented Risks to Judicial Independence

Experts note that Bukele's latest remarks come at a time of unmatched threats to judicial independence and specific justices in the US, and during a phase where the president's team is using similar authoritarian methods employed by rulers in nations such as Türkiye, the European state, the Asian nation, and his native El Salvador to weaken democratic accountability.

The president's online statement last week was just the latest in a long series of taunts and allegations he has made against the US's legal system, such as a spring claim that the US was “experiencing a court takeover,” and ridicule of a federal judge's order to halt deportation flights sending suspected illegal immigrants to his nation's brutal correctional facilities.

Criticism on Oregon Justice

The Salvadoran's impeachment call was also issued amid online criticism on Oregon justice Judge Immergut by presidential advisor Stephen Miller, former AG Bondi, Elon Musk, and the president himself in a latest media briefing.

The judge had ordered restraining orders blocking the administration from deploying the national guard, initially in Oregon then in California. The president has been eager to dispatch troops into Portland, which the president has described as “battle-scarred” based on small, peaceful protests outside the urban homeland security facility.

Record of Targeting Justices

Miller, the former AG, and Musk have a history of attacking judges who have blocked Trump's executive orders or otherwise impeded the administration's political agenda. Prior to resuming office this year, the president directed his supporters against judges overseeing his civil and criminal trials, who were then deluged with intimidation and harassment.

Monitoring groups, police departments, and the justices have highlighted a increased climate of threats and coercion in the period since he returned to the presidency.

Increasing Threat Statistics

According to data gathered by the US Marshals Service, in 2025 through the third quarter, there were over five hundred incidents to 395 federal judges, leading to 805 inquiries. 2025 has already surpassed 2022, and last year, and is on track to top 2023's record of over six hundred threats.

The threats are not only happening at the national level. Data from Princeton's research project shows that there have been at least 59 instances of intimidation, harassment, surveillance, or violence directed against judges on the state and municipal levels in 2025.

Analyst Analysis on Threat Sources

Specialists state that the threats are a product of the rhetoric coming from top government officials.

In May, the Global Project Against Hate and Extremism (GPAHE) published a comprehensive report alleging that “harmful and reckless statements from Trump administration members and supporters align with rising violent posts on online platforms.” It noted “a 54% increase in demands for removal and violent threats against judges across digital networks from the first two months of this year, the first full month of the president's term.”

Beirich, the founder of the organization, said: “The president's warnings against judges have definitely fueled digital abuse at judges and demands for impeachment. Targeting the courts is another move in the administration's march towards authoritarianism.”

Global Authoritarian Playbook

This progression towards authoritarianism has been well-trodden in the past decade in multiple nations, including by Bukele.

In several years ago, immediately after commencing a second term despite constitutional prohibitions, the president's allies in congress voted to dismiss the nation's top prosecutor and five justices on the constitutional court. The judges, who had angered him by rejecting coronavirus measures, made way for new appointees selected by Bukele.

The move mirrored Viktor Orbán’s overhaul of the nation's judiciary several years back; Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s judicial purges recently; and efforts at comparable actions in the Middle Eastern state and Poland.

Weakening Judicial Independence

Experts say that the threats and rhetorical attacks in the US can be seen as attempts to weaken judicial independence in a structure that offers no easy way for the executive to remove judges the administration disapproves of.

Leonard, an academic at Illinois State University who has studied democratic decline in free nations, said the Trump administration had learned from the models set by strongmen overseas.

“The administration is observing at these achievements and failures. They know they’re not going to be able to enact any legislation that would undermine the judiciary,” she said.

Pointing to instances such as Miller’s relentless assertions of nearly limitless presidential authority, she added: “They openly criticize the judiciary by stating repeatedly that it is not a equal branch in the separation of powers.

“They continue to redefine the discussion by emphasizing their claim that the president has more power than this other co-equal branch, which is not how checks and balances work.”

Leonard said: “Justices' only protection is people’s belief in the legitimacy of their ability to make those decisions. Personal intimidation on top of eroding institutional legitimacy may make judges think twice about decisions that go against the current administration, which is, of course, highly concerning for judicial review and for the political system.”

Coercion Methods

Scheppele, academic of social science and global studies at Princeton University, has written about the use of “authoritarian law” by the such as the Hungarian and Putin, and has warned about rising threats to judges in the US.

She highlighted a series of termed “harassment deliveries” recently, in which judges have received unsolicited pizza deliveries with the recipient listed as Daniel Anderl, the child of Judge Esther Salas, who was murdered at the judge’s home in 2020 by a assailant targeting the judge.

“All knows what it means. ‘Your address is known. We’re coming for you,’” the professor said.

“US justices are guarded by the presidential protection and the Marshals Service. And these are dedicated police units that sit structurally inside the Department of Justice. And Pam Bondi has been leading the criticism on justices.”

Administration Aims

Regarding the government's objectives, Scheppele said that “impeaching a federal judge is highly not going to happen because it’s very difficult to do. {Right now|Currently