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Donald Trump is not typically known for guidance, particularly from international figures who frequently attempt to flatter and admire the American leader.

But, El Salvador's authoritarian leader Nayib Bukele has followed a distinct approach by urging the Trump administration to emulate his actions in removing what he terms “dishonest judges.”

His appeal for the president to move against the American court system also garnered support from Trump allies, such as an X post by former supporter the billionaire, who has previously amplified the Salvadoran's demands to oust US judges.

Unprecedented Threats to Court Autonomy

Experts say that Bukele's recent intervention occur of unmatched threats to court autonomy and individual judges in the United States, and during a phase where the president's team is employing similar authoritarian tactics employed by rulers in countries such as Türkiye, the European state, India, and Bukele's own El Salvador to weaken democratic accountability.

Bukele's online call recently was just the latest in a long series of provocations and claims he has leveled against the US's legal system, such as a March claim that the US was “facing a judicial coup,” and his mockery of a federal judge's ruling to halt removal operations transporting suspected illegal immigrants to his country's brutal correctional facilities.

Attacks on Federal Judge

Bukele's demand for removal was also issued amid online criticism on Oregon justice Karin Immergut by White House aide Miller, attorney general Pam Bondi, Musk, and the president himself in a recent media briefing.

The judge had issued injunctions blocking Trump from deploying the national guard, initially in Oregon then in California. The president has been eager to send soldiers into the city, which the leader has characterized as “battle-scarred” based on limited, non-violent demonstrations outside the urban federal building.

Record of Attacking Judges

The advisor, the former AG, and Musk have a history of criticizing judges who have ruled against Trump's executive orders or otherwise impeded the government's policy goals. Prior to returning to power this year, the president urged his followers against judges presiding over his legal cases, who were then deluged with intimidation and harassment.

Monitoring groups, law enforcement agencies, and judges themselves have pointed to a heightened climate of threats and intimidation in the period since he returned to the White House.

Increasing Risk Data

Based on data collected by the US Marshals Service, in 2025 through the third quarter, there were over five hundred threats to 395 federal judges, leading to more than eight hundred inquiries. This year has already surpassed 2022, and 2024, and is likely to top 2023's record of over six hundred reported incidents.

The dangers are not just happening at the federal level. Data from Princeton's Bridging Divides Initiative indicates that there have been at least 59 instances of threats, harassment, stalking, or violence committed against judges on the state and municipal levels in the current year.

Analyst Insights on Root Causes

Specialists say that the threats are a product of the language coming from top government officials.

In May, the watchdog group published a comprehensive report alleging that “malicious and highly irresponsible statements from White House allies and supporters align with escalating violent posts on social media.” It recorded “a fifty-four percent increase in demands for removal and physical intimidation against judges across social media platforms from the first two months of this year, the initial period of Trump’s administration.”

Beirich, the co-founder of the organization, said: “Trump’s warnings against judges have certainly fueled digital abuse at judges and demands for impeachment. Targeting the courts is another move in the administration's march towards authoritarianism.”

International Authoritarian Tactics

This progression towards autocracy has been well-trodden in recent years in multiple countries, including by the Salvadoran.

In 2021, right after starting a second term despite constitutional prohibitions, Bukele’s parliamentary loyalists voted to dismiss the country’s top prosecutor and five judges on the supreme court. The justices, who had provoked his ire by rejecting pandemic policies, made way for replacements hand picked by the leader.

The action mirrored Viktor Orbán’s remodeling of the nation's judiciary several years back; Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s court cleanups in 2019; and efforts at similar moves in Israel and the European country.

Weakening Judicial Independence

Analysts say that the intimidation and rhetorical attacks in the US can be viewed as attempts to undermine court autonomy in a system that offers no easy way for the president to remove judges Trump opposes.

Meghan Leonard, an associate professor at Illinois State University who has researched authoritarian backsliding in democracies, said the White House had learned from the models set by strongmen abroad.

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

Citing instances such as the advisor's persistent claims of nearly limitless presidential authority, she added: “They openly criticize the judiciary by stating repeatedly that it is not a co-equal branch in the separation of powers.

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

The professor said: “Judges' only protection is people’s belief in the authority of their capacity to make those rulings. Personal intimidation on top of weakening trust in courts may make judges think twice about decisions that go against the current administration, which is, of course, highly concerning for court oversight and for democracy.”

Intimidation Tactics

Kim Lane Scheppele, professor of sociology and global studies at the Ivy League school, has documented the use of “authoritarian law” by the likes of the Hungarian and Putin, and has warned about escalating dangers to judges in the US.

She pointed to a series of so-called “harassment deliveries” recently, in which judges have received unsolicited food orders with the recipient listed as a name, the child of Justice Salas, who was killed at the judge’s home in several years ago by a gunman targeting the judge.

“Everyone understands what it means. ‘Your address is known. You are a target,’” Scheppele said.

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

Administration Aims

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