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The US President does not usually take guidance, especially from foreign leaders who often seek to praise and compliment the American leader.

But, El Salvador's authoritarian leader Nayib Bukele has followed a distinct approach by calling on the Trump administration to follow his example in impeaching so-called “corrupt judges.”

The call for the president to take action against the American court system also received backing from Trump allies, including an social media message by former close Trump ally the billionaire, who has in the past boosted Bukele's calls to oust US judges.

Unprecedented Risks to Court Autonomy

Analysts say that the leader's recent remarks come at a time of unmatched dangers to judicial independence and specific justices in the United States, and during a phase where the Trump administration is employing similar strong-arm tactics employed by leaders in nations such as Turkey, the European state, India, and Bukele's own the Central American country to weaken democratic accountability.

The president's social media call last week was one more in a long series of taunts and claims he has made against the US's legal system, such as a March claim that the US was “experiencing a court takeover,” and his mockery of a federal judge's order to stop deportation flights sending suspected undocumented individuals to his nation's brutal correctional facilities.

Attacks on Oregon Justice

The Salvadoran's demand for removal was also issued amid online attacks on Oregon justice Judge Immergut by White House aide Stephen Miller, attorney general Pam Bondi, Musk, and Trump himself in a recent press gaggle.

Immergut had issued injunctions blocking the administration from deploying the national guard, first in Oregon then in California. Trump has been eager to send soldiers into Portland, which the president has described as “battle-scarred” based on small, non-violent demonstrations outside the city's homeland security facility.

History of Attacking Judges

The advisor, Bondi, and Musk have a history of attacking judges who have ruled against Trump's executive orders or otherwise hindered the government's policy goals. Before resuming office this year, Trump directed his supporters against judges presiding over his civil and criminal trials, who were then inundated with intimidation and abuse.

Watchdog organizations, police departments, and judges themselves have pointed to a increased climate of threats and coercion in the period since he re-entered the White House.

Rising Threat Statistics

Based on data gathered by the US Marshals Service, in the current year through the third quarter, there were 562 incidents to nearly four hundred US justices, leading to 805 investigations. This year has already eclipsed the first recorded year, and last year, and is on track to exceed the previous year's high of over six hundred reported incidents.

The threats are not just happening at the federal level. Data from Princeton's research project shows that there have been at least fifty-nine cases of intimidation, targeting, surveillance, or violence committed against judges on the local level in 2025.

Analyst Insights on Root Causes

Experts state that the intimidation are a product of the rhetoric coming from top government officials.

In May, the watchdog group published a comprehensive report claiming that “malicious and reckless statements from White House allies and supporters coincide with rising aggressive posts on social media.” It noted “a fifty-four percent rise in calls for impeachment and violent threats against judges across social media platforms from the first two months of this year, the initial period of Trump’s administration.”

Beirich, the founder of the organization, said: “Trump’s warnings against judges have definitely fueled online vitriol at judges and demands for ouster. Attacking the courts is one more step in the administration's advance towards strongman rule.”

International Authoritarian Tactics

This progression towards authoritarianism has been well-trodden in recent years in several nations, such as by the Salvadoran.

In several years ago, right after starting a new term in the face of constitutional prohibitions, Bukele’s parliamentary loyalists voted to dismiss the country’s top prosecutor and five justices on the supreme court. The judges, who had provoked his ire by rejecting pandemic policies, made way for new appointees selected by the leader.

The move echoed the Hungarian leader's remodeling of Hungary’s court system several years back; the Turkish president's judicial purges recently; and attempts at comparable actions in the Middle Eastern state and the European country.

Undermining Judicial Independence

Analysts explain that the intimidation and verbal assaults in the US can be seen as attempts to undermine judicial independence in a structure that offers no easy way for the executive to remove judges the administration disapproves of.

Leonard, an academic at the university who has researched authoritarian backsliding in democracies, said the White House had learned from the examples set by authoritarians abroad.

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

Pointing to instances such as the advisor's persistent assertions of nearly limitless presidential authority, she noted: “They openly attack the courts by repeating over and over that it is not a co-equal branch in the separation of powers.

“They continue to reframe the debate by repeating their argument that the president has more power than this judicial branch, which is not how checks and balances work.”

Leonard said: “Justices' sole safeguard is public trust in the legitimacy of their capacity to make those rulings. Individual threats on top of weakening institutional legitimacy may make judges hesitate about judgments that go against the current administration, which is, of course, massively problematic for judicial review and for the political system.”

Intimidation Tactics

Kim Lane Scheppele, professor of sociology and global studies at Princeton University, has written about the use of “authoritarian law” by the likes of the Hungarian and the Russian, and has warned about escalating dangers to judges in the US.

She highlighted a series of so-called “harassment deliveries” recently, in which judges have received unwanted food orders with the customer listed as Daniel Anderl, the son of Judge Esther Salas, who was murdered at the judge’s home in 2020 by a assailant targeting the judge.

“All understands what it means. ‘We know where you live. We’re coming for you,’” Scheppele said.

“Federal judges are guarded by the presidential protection and the Marshals Service. And these are dedicated police units that sit institutionally inside the federal agency. And Pam Bondi has been spearheading the criticism on federal judges.”

Government Goals

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