The United States Supreme Court has asked Congress to increase funding to help protect the Supreme Court justices.
The court’s budget request asks for $5,897,000 for the “expansion of protective activities” and a separate increase of $585,000 for new IT security positions in “cybersecurity, software development, and network engineering.”
“This request would expand security activities conducted by Supreme Court Police to protect the Justices,” the protective activities request says, before specifically citing the presence of threats to the justices.
“On-going threat assessments show evolving risks that require continuous protection,” the request continues. “Additional funding would provide for contract positions, eventually transitioning to full-time employees, that will augment capabilities of the Supreme Court police force and allow it to accomplish its protective mission.”
The Supreme Court did not immediately respond to a request for comment from The Daily Signal.
The move comes amid ongoing protesting at the homes of the justices in violation of 18 U.S. Code 1507—protesting that has taken place since the leak of the draft opinion indicating that the monumental Supreme Court case Roe v. Wade would be overturned.
Attorney General Merrick Garland has not enforced that law, even after authorities arrested a man who said he was attempting to kill Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh, and despite the fact that both Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin and former Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan requested that he enforce the law.
On March 1, Garland admitted that it is a federal crime to protest outside a judge’s home with the intent of influencing that judge as to a pending case. The Justice Department did not immediately address to The Daily Signal whether it will now enforce the law against the far-left activists demonstrating outside the justices’ homes.
“The increase of over $5 million for protective services for Supreme Court justices is, sadly, necessary,” Charles Stimson, deputy director of the Heritage Foundation’s Edwin Meese III Center for Legal and Judicial Studies, told The Daily Signal. (The Daily Signal is the news outlet of The Heritage Foundation).
He added: “The threats to the justices and their families is ongoing, in large part because the attorney general of the United States, and the Fairfax County commonwealth’s attorney (Steve Descano), refuse to prosecute the people who routinely violate federal and state law by harassing the justices and their families every month.”
Judicial Crisis Network President Carrie Severino also said it was “no surprise” that “the Courts’ security concerns are exploding in a time when everyone from Democrat senators to liberal dark money groups have their sights trained on any judge who won’t toe their party line.”
“The threats are having their intended effect, and our public servants are less safe as a result,” she warned.
The U.S. Marshals finally responded to requests for comment from The Daily Signal regarding ongoing protesting, saying that “it is US Marshal policy not to comment on specifics of ongoing security details.”
In a phone call last week, spokesman Barry Lane questioned: “Do you think us sharing information with you about how we protect the judiciary will help or hinder our ability to do that?”
Editor’s note: This story has been updated to include a quote from Carrie Severino.
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