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The US President does not usually take counsel, particularly from international figures who often attempt to flatter and compliment the American leader.

But, the Central American nation's strongman president Bukele has adopted a distinct strategy by calling on the White House to emulate his actions in removing so-called “dishonest judges.”

The call for Trump to move against the American court system also received support from Maga figures, such as an X post by former close Trump ally the billionaire, who has previously amplified Bukele's calls to oust US judges.

Unprecedented Threats to Court Autonomy

Analysts note that the leader's latest remarks occur of unmatched dangers to judicial independence and specific justices in the United States, and during a period where the Trump administration is employing comparable strong-arm tactics employed by leaders in countries such as Turkey, Hungary, the Asian nation, and Bukele's own the Central American country to weaken government oversight.

The president's social media statement last week was just the latest in a long series of taunts and allegations he has made against the US's legal system, including a spring claim that the US was “experiencing a judicial coup,” and his mockery of a federal judge's ruling to stop removal operations transporting accused undocumented individuals to his country's harsh correctional facilities.

Attacks on Oregon Justice

The Salvadoran's impeachment call was also issued amid social media attacks on the state's federal judge Karin Immergut by White House aide Stephen Miller, attorney general Bondi, Elon Musk, and the president personally in a latest press gaggle.

The judge had issued injunctions preventing Trump from deploying the military reserves, first in Oregon then in the West Coast state. The president has been pushing to send troops into Portland, which the president has characterized as “war-ravaged” based on small, peaceful protests outside the urban federal building.

History of Attacking Justices

Miller, the former AG, and the entrepreneur have a history of criticizing judges who have blocked Trump's executive orders or otherwise hindered the government's political agenda. Prior to resuming office this year, Trump directed his followers against judges overseeing his civil and criminal trials, who were then inundated with intimidation and harassment.

Watchdog organizations, police departments, and the justices have pointed to a increased climate of risks and coercion in the period since he returned to the presidency.

Increasing Threat Statistics

Based on information gathered by the US Marshals Service, in 2025 through the end of September, there were 562 incidents to 395 US justices, leading to 805 inquiries. This year has already surpassed the first recorded year, and 2024, and is likely to exceed 2023's high of 630 reported incidents.

The dangers are not only happening at the national level. Information by the university's research project indicates that there have been at least fifty-nine cases of threats, harassment, surveillance, or violence directed against judges on the state and municipal levels in the current year.

Analyst Analysis on Threat Sources

Specialists say that the intimidation are a result of the language coming from top government officials.

In May, the Global Project Against Hate and Extremism (GPAHE) published a detailed report claiming that “harmful and highly irresponsible statements from White House allies and supporters coincide with escalating violent posts on online platforms.” It recorded “a fifty-four percent increase in demands for removal and physical intimidation against judges across digital networks from the first two months of this year, the first full month of Trump’s administration.”

Beirich, the co-founder of GPAHE, said: “Trump’s warnings against judges have definitely fueled online vitriol at judges and demands for ouster. Targeting the judiciary is one more step in Trump’s advance towards strongman rule.”

Global Strongman Playbook

That march towards authoritarianism has been well-trodden in the past decade in multiple countries, such as by Bukele.

In 2021, right after commencing a second term in the face of legal bans, the president's allies in congress voted to dismiss the country’s top prosecutor and five judges on the supreme court. The judges, who had angered him by rejecting pandemic policies, were replaced by replacements hand picked by the leader.

The move echoed the Hungarian leader's remodeling of Hungary’s court system several years back; the Turkish president's court cleanups in 2019; and attempts at similar moves in the Middle Eastern state and the European country.

Weakening Judicial Independence

Experts say that the intimidation and verbal assaults in the US can be seen as attempts to weaken judicial independence in a system that provides no simple method for the president to dismiss judges the administration disapproves of.

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

“The administration is looking around 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.

Citing examples such as Miller’s relentless assertions of nearly limitless executive power, she added: “They openly attack the courts by stating repeatedly that it is not a co-equal branch in the separation of powers.

“They continue to redefine the discussion by emphasizing their argument that the executive has more power than this judicial branch, which is not how separation powers work.”

The professor said: “Justices' only protection is public trust in the legitimacy of their capacity to make those rulings. Individual threats on top of weakening trust in courts may make judges think twice about judgments that go against the sitting government, which is, of course, highly concerning for court oversight and for democracy.”

Intimidation Tactics

Scheppele, academic of sociology and international affairs at Princeton University, has documented the use of “autocratic legalism” by the likes of Orbán and Putin, and has warned about escalating dangers to judges in the US.

She highlighted a wave of so-called “harassment deliveries” recently, in which judges have received unsolicited pizza deliveries with the recipient listed as a name, the child of Justice Salas, who was murdered at the judge’s home in 2020 by a gunman aiming at Salas.

“All understands what it means. ‘We know where you live. You are a target,’” the professor said.

“Federal judges are guarded by the Secret Service and the federal police. And those are both dedicated police units that sit institutionally inside the Department of Justice. And Pam Bondi has been leading the attacks on federal judges.”

Government Goals

On the government's aims, the expert said that “removing a US justice is highly not going to happen because it’s very difficult to do. {Right now|Currently