Consideration and Reflections
Concern: Is it appropriate to write thank you letters to judges who have opposed Trump executive orders that violate the Constitution?
Reflection: You can send a polite note of appreciation, but only after the litigation over that executive-order is completely finished (including appeals) and the letter must not contain anything that could be read as trying to influence future rulings. If the case is still active in any court, the safer, more ethical path is to thank the judge indirectly (e.g., a letter to the editor or a public statement of support) rather than a private note.
Concern: How do we address the threats of violence? You know about the Pizza deliveries to judges to remind them what happened 4 years ago to the son of another judge who was shot by a man under the disguiise of Pizza delivery.
Reflection: Yes — since early 2025 a number of U.S. federal judges have begun reporting unsolicited pizza orders showing up at their homes. The deliveries are:
- Placed in the judges' own names or, more chillingly, in the name "Daniel Anderl."
- Daniel was the 20-year-old son of U.S. District Judge Esther Salas; he was murdered in July 2020 when an anti-feminist lawyer posed as a FedEx driver and opened fire at the family's front door.
- Timed to arrive within days of the judges issuing—or joining—rulings that block or slow Trump-related executive actions. Judges appointed by both parties have been hit.
- Intended as intimidation rather than a prank. Judge Salas, who now speaks publicly about judicial security, told reporters the use of her son's name "sends a very clear, threatening message: we know where you live."
- The 2020 attack on Judge Salas's family involved a FedEx-style uniform, not pizza, but the perpetrators of the 2025 deliveries appear to be deliberately blurring that detail—using pizza as a visual shorthand for "delivery disguise" and adding Daniel Anderl's name to connect the dots.
Concern: What has been done about these threats ?
Reflection: Scope and response
- The U.S. Marshals Service and Federal Protective Service have logged hundreds of these "pizza doxxings" in at least seven states since February. Investigators are treating them as harassment and potential stalking.
- Senate Judiciary Committee members have asked the Justice Department for a formal probe, noting that threats against federal judges have more than tripled since 2019.
- Judges have been advised to decline all unexpected deliveries and to route door knocks through security cameras or court-assigned deputies.
Concern:How can we as citizens express our empathy, our prayers, our solidarity to those judges. They and their families are threatened by trump followers
Reflection:Below are some practical, ethics-safe ways ordinary citizens can show empathy and solidarity with judges who are being harassed for rulings that block unconstitutional executive orders—without putting the judges (or yourself) in an awkward legal or security position.
1. Go public – let the judiciary see broad community backing
How
Letters-to-the-editor & op-eds in local or national outlets
Social-media posts using hashtags such as #StandWithJudges or #RespectTheRuleOfLaw
Community vigils / courthouse rallies (peaceful, permitted)
Why it helps
Judges (and their clerks) track the public conversation; they can read published praise without ethical worry because it is not a private communication.
Public displays of support counter the optics of intimidation campaigns (e.g., pizza "doxxings").
Visible solidarity reassures judges and court staff that threats are not the only voices being heard.
Tips
Keep the tone civic: defend the rule of law, not a political "side."
Do not tag the judge directly; tag the court or bar associations instead.
Coordinate with court security in advance; avoid active-case days to prevent disruption
2. Strengthen their security and privacy indirectly
How to do it - Action
Donate to the Daniel Anderl Judicial Protection Project or similar nonprofits that fund security retrofits and education for judges' families.
Ask your senators & representatives to fully fund the Daniel Anderl Judicial Security & Privacy Act implementation grants (DOJ requested $10 million for FY 2025, but Congress still has to appropriate it).
Support state "anti-doxxing" bills that mirror the Anderl Act and keep judges' home addresses off the internet.
3. Send institutional (not private) notes of appreciation — only after cases are over
JudiciSal ethics bar judges from receiving private messages about a "pending or impending" matter.
If all appeals are finished, you may:
- Address the letter to "The Honorable [Name], [Court]" (use the courthouse address, never a home address).
- Keep it short and strictly gratitude-focused (e.g., "Thank you for upholding constitutional limits; your service strengthens public trust").
- No commentary on future cases, partisan praise or criticism, or gifts of any kind.
- The clerk's office logs such mail; judges typically do see them eventually, and there's no ex-parte problem once litigation is closed.
4. Back the professional associations that back the judges.
Federal Bar Association, American Constitution Society, Federal Judges Association—all issue statements, file amicus briefs, and lobby for security funding. Joining, donating or amplifying their statements turns individual sympathy into organized clout.
5. Model respectful discourse
Speak up when friends, colleagues or social-media contacts spread doxxing info or violent rhetoric against judges. A firm "That's not how democracy works—courts protect everyone's rights" changes social norms in your own circle.
A quick "What not to do"
Don't…
Because…
…send food, flowers, or "gifts."
They will be refused for security reasons.
…visit a judge's home to show support.
Unannounced contacts create the same safety concerns as the intimidation tactics.
…write while the case is still active.
Even praise can be an improper ex-parte communication.
Bottom line
Public, collective expressions of respect—plus concrete support for judicial-security legislation—carry far more weight (and zero ethical risk) than private notes during active cases. When the legal dust settles, a brief, gracious letter to the courthouse is perfectly welcome.