# Judicial protection (concerning Trump) **URL:** \ **Category:** Politics & Elections\ **Tags:** trump\ **Created:** [March 19, 2024, 7:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/judicial-protection-concerning-trump/999052 "2024-03-19T19:42:37Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2024, 7:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/judicial-protection-concerning-trump/999052/1 "2024-03-19T19:42:37Z")
I can see a real problem concerning threats to any judge or judges that sentence Trump to prison. Can police protection (city, state or Federal) be offered beforehand, or does there have to be a specific threat first. Also, can such an offer be used by Trump’s lawyers to show prejudice against him? ---
**Author:** ![dolphinboy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dolphinboy/32/330_2.png) [@dolphinboy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dolphinboy)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2024, 8:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/judicial-protection-concerning-trump/999052/2 "2024-03-19T20:29:48Z")
I don’t think it’s that unusual for a judge to be threatened by a defendant following a conviction. I would think it would have to be an imminent and credible threat for law enforcement authorities to offer any protection, but I could be wrong. ---
**Author:** ![Velocity](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/velocity/32/18006_2.png) [@Velocity](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Velocity)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2024, 8:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/judicial-protection-concerning-trump/999052/3 "2024-03-19T20:30:47Z")
You got to bear in mind that pretty much all such threats are empty and hot air. And threatening a judge is a great way to get an even heavier sentence. ---
**Author:** ![Joey\_P](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/919ad9/32.png) [@Joey\_P](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Joey_P)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2024, 8:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/judicial-protection-concerning-trump/999052/4 "2024-03-19T20:35:11Z")
> [@Velocity](#): > > You got to bear in mind that pretty much all such threats are empty and hot air. In general or in Trump’s cases? In general, that may be true, but in cases involving Trump, we know his followers will hear his dog whistles and act on them. ---
**Author:** ![Dinsdale](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/97f17d/32.png) [@Dinsdale](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dinsdale)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2024, 8:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/judicial-protection-concerning-trump/999052/5 "2024-03-19T20:38:20Z")
The Federal Protection Service takes any such threats very seriously. IME They take strong action even for threats that seem very likely to be empty. And they take very seriously the threats posed to and their job of protecting Article 3 judges. This is their job. They do not hesitate to take action when given cause. And they SURELY do not want to be the folk who ignored a threat which is subsequently carried out. ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2024, 9:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/judicial-protection-concerning-trump/999052/6 "2024-03-19T21:50:32Z")
Trump’s minions weren’t out to play tag with the Vice-president. I would think that prior events like these show justification. ---
**Author:** ![dolphinboy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dolphinboy/32/330_2.png) [@dolphinboy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dolphinboy)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2024, 1:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/judicial-protection-concerning-trump/999052/7 "2024-03-20T01:15:31Z")
> [@Czarcasm](#): > > Trump’s minions weren’t out to play tag with the Vice-president. I would think that prior events like these show justification. I know this is a hijack, but do you really think there was a possibility that Pence was going to get hanged on January 6th? Saying you want to hang someone, and actually hanging them, are two very different things. ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2024, 1:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/judicial-protection-concerning-trump/999052/8 "2024-03-20T01:59:28Z")
_Never_ underestimate the power of a mob to overpower an individual’s self preservation and common sense. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2024, 2:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/judicial-protection-concerning-trump/999052/9 "2024-03-20T02:14:09Z")
> [@dolphinboy](#): > > I know this is a hijack, but do you really think there was a possibility that Pence was going to get hanged on January 6th? Saying you want to hang someone, and actually hanging them, are two very different things. And trying to batter down a barricaded door that that someone is behind, with guns drawn, is yet another different thing. ---
**Author:** ![eschrodinger](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eschrodinger/32/122_2.png) [@eschrodinger](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eschrodinger)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2024, 2:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/judicial-protection-concerning-trump/999052/10 "2024-03-20T02:17:18Z")
> [@Dinsdale](#): > > The Federal Protection Service takes any such threats very seriously. IME They take strong action even for threats that seem very likely to be empty. And they take very seriously the threats posed to and their job of protecting Article 3 judges. Article III judges, federal jurors and judicial proceedings are all protected by the US Marshals Service, not FPS. Any of the protection services, though, is certain to have pretty sophisticated threat assessment systems. There are a lot of clues used to evaluate whether a particular person or threat is likely to be serious. And a lot of steps that can be taken to lessen the threat. I’m sure the Marshals Service is kept quite busy around Trump’s court appearances and the rulings in his federal cases. ---
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2024, 2:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/judicial-protection-concerning-trump/999052/11 "2024-03-20T02:32:54Z")
> [@Velocity](#): > > You got to bear in mind that pretty much all such threats are empty and hot air. > > And threatening a judge is a great way to get an even heavier sentence. An example of the latter, though it is also an example of an attack against a judge’s family by a disgruntled plaintiff: In 2005, a U.S. District Court judge in Chicago, Joan Lefkow, came home to discover her husband and mother had both been shot to death by an assailant. Several years earlier, she had presided over a trademark infringement case involving white supremacist leader Matthew Hale; during that trial, numerous threats were made against Lefkow. But, more importantly, an FBI agent recorded Hale soliciting the murder of Judge Lefkow (which led to a 40-year prison sentence for Hale). During Hale’s trial, Lefkow was under the protection of the Marshals Service for a time. Due to the history of the Hale case, initial suspicions around the identity of the gunman who had killed Lefkow’s husband and mother centered on hate groups. However, it turned out that the gunman (who killed himself when police approached him) was a man whose medical malpractice lawsuit had been dismissed by Lefkow, and he had broken into Lefkow’s home intending on killing her (but she was not home at the time). > **[Joan Lefkow](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joan_Lefkow)** > > Joan Marilyn Humphrey Lefkow (born January 8, 1944) is a senior United States district judge of the United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois. > Lefkow was born in Nemaha County, Kansas. She attended Wheaton College in Illinois, where she received an Artium Baccalaureus degree, and obtained her Juris Doctor (J.D.) at Northwestern University School of Law in 1971. After graduation, she became a law clerk for Judge Thomas E. Fairchild of the United States Court of Appeals ... ---
**Author:** ![Dinsdale](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/97f17d/32.png) [@Dinsdale](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dinsdale)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2024, 11:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/judicial-protection-concerning-trump/999052/12 "2024-03-20T11:41:24Z")
> [@eschrodinger](#): > > Article III judges, federal jurors and judicial proceedings are all protected by the US Marshals Service, not FPS. Thanks for the correction. I was erroneously extrapolating from my experience w/ FPS. ---
**Author:** ![enipla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/54ee81/32.png) [@enipla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/enipla)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2024, 11:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/judicial-protection-concerning-trump/999052/13 "2024-03-20T11:48:55Z")
> [@dolphinboy](#): > > I know this is a hijack, but do you really think there was a possibility that Pence was going to get hanged on January 6th? Saying you want to hang someone, and actually hanging them, are two very different things. I suspect he would have been stomped/kicked to death. Along with Pelosi and anyone in a suit. As Czarcasm said “Never underestimate the power of a mob …” ---
**Author:** ![dolphinboy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dolphinboy/32/330_2.png) [@dolphinboy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dolphinboy)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2024, 1:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/judicial-protection-concerning-trump/999052/14 "2024-03-20T13:13:08Z")
> [@enipla](#): > > I suspect he would have been stomped/kicked to death. Along with Pelosi and anyone in a suit. > > As Czarcasm said “Never underestimate the power of a mob …” I understand mob mentality, but I would like to believe that they would have stopped short of killing or seriously injuring either the VP or any member of congress. It wouldn’t have changed anything if they had, and the perpetrators would be facing the death penalty if they were caught, which is likely considering a lot of people were filming their activities. Of course, I assume Trump, being a decent human being, would have called it off if it ever got close to that point. ---
**Author:** ![FinsToTheLeft](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/finstotheleft/32/2930_2.png) [@FinsToTheLeft](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FinsToTheLeft)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2024, 1:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/judicial-protection-concerning-trump/999052/15 "2024-03-20T13:24:30Z")
> [@dolphinboy](#): > > I understand mob mentality, but I would like to believe that they would have stopped short of killing or seriously injuring either the VP or any member of congress. People actually died in the storming, this wasn’t a bunch of old ladies on a church picnic. ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2024, 3:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/judicial-protection-concerning-trump/999052/16 "2024-03-20T15:35:53Z")
Satire? ---
**Author:** ![dolphinboy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dolphinboy/32/330_2.png) [@dolphinboy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dolphinboy)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2024, 4:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/judicial-protection-concerning-trump/999052/17 "2024-03-20T16:44:40Z")
Yes, it’s satire, but a large percentage of the country is trying to re-elect Trump as president. It shows how deluded and brainwashed these people have become. MAGA, or Trumpism, is nothing more than a cult, and his followers will say and do anything he tells them to say or do. How do you mass de-program all these people who have clearly fallen for such an obvious con artist? ---
**Author:** ![The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/the_other_waldo_pepper/32/12370_2.png) [@The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Other_Waldo_Pepper)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2024, 4:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/judicial-protection-concerning-trump/999052/18 "2024-03-20T16:50:36Z")
> [@dolphinboy](#): > > MAGA, or Trumpism, is nothing more than a cult, and his followers will say and do anything he tells them to say or do. Will they get a vaccine? ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2024, 5:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/judicial-protection-concerning-trump/999052/19 "2024-03-20T17:05:51Z")
Perhaps if they called it a “Trumpcine”. ---
**Author:** ![enipla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/54ee81/32.png) [@enipla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/enipla)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2024, 5:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/judicial-protection-concerning-trump/999052/20 "2024-03-20T17:13:36Z")
> [@dolphinboy](#): > > MAGA, or Trumpism, is nothing more than a cult, and his followers will say and do anything he tells them to say or do. How do you mass de-program all these people who have clearly fallen for such an obvious con artist? Well, we ‘vaccinated’ 500 or so by sending them to prison. That’s a start. They get ‘vaccinated’ by cutting off the head of the snake. Meaning, don’t allow him to be elected (Colorado tried), and throw Trump in prison too. Some will crawl back under their rocks. Some more will get prison for their violent protests. The wheels of justice do grind slowly. Hopefully, we can keep up with these traitors. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/judicial-protection-concerning-trump/999052.md?page=2)