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Donald Trump is not typically known for advice, especially from foreign leaders who often attempt to praise and compliment the American leader.

But, El Salvador's authoritarian leader Nayib Bukele has adopted a different strategy by calling on the White House to emulate his actions in removing so-called “corrupt judges.”

The call for Trump to move against the US judiciary also garnered support from Trump allies, such as an social media message by former close Trump ally the billionaire, who has previously boosted Bukele's calls to impeach US judges.

Unprecedented Threats to Judicial Independence

Analysts say that Bukele's latest intervention come at a time of unprecedented dangers to judicial independence and individual judges in the United States, and during a phase where the Trump administration is using similar authoritarian methods used by leaders in countries such as Türkiye, the European state, the Asian nation, and Bukele's own El Salvador to undermine democratic accountability.

Bukele's online call last week was just the latest in a long series of provocations and claims he has leveled against the US's legal system, including a March claim that the US was “experiencing a court takeover,” and his mockery of a court's order to halt deportation flights sending suspected undocumented individuals to his country's brutal prison system.

Attacks on Oregon Justice

The Salvadoran's impeachment call was also issued during online attacks on the state's federal judge Judge Immergut by presidential advisor Miller, former AG Pam Bondi, Musk, and the president himself in a recent press gaggle.

The judge had ordered injunctions preventing Trump from mobilizing the military reserves, initially in Oregon then in California. Trump has been eager to dispatch troops into the city, which the leader has described as “war-ravaged” based on small, non-violent demonstrations outside the city's federal building.

Record of Targeting Judges

Miller, the former AG, and Musk have a history of attacking judges who have ruled against Trump's executive orders or otherwise hindered the government's policy goals. Prior to resuming office recently, Trump urged his supporters against judges presiding over his civil and criminal trials, who were then deluged with threats and abuse.

Watchdog organizations, law enforcement agencies, and judges themselves have pointed to a heightened climate of risks and intimidation in the months since he returned to the White House.

Rising Threat Statistics

Based on data gathered by the US Marshals Service, in 2025 through the end of September, there were over five hundred incidents to 395 US justices, leading to more than eight hundred inquiries. 2025 has already eclipsed the first recorded year, and 2024, and is on track to exceed 2023's high of over six hundred reported incidents.

The threats are not just happening at the federal level. Information by Princeton's research project indicates that there have been at least 59 instances of intimidation, targeting, stalking, or physical attacks committed against judges on the state and municipal levels in the current year.

Expert Insights on Root Causes

Specialists say that the threats are a product of the language coming from senior administration figures.

In May, the watchdog group published a detailed report claiming that “malicious and highly irresponsible statements from White House allies and supporters coincide with escalating violent posts on online platforms.” It noted “a 54% rise in calls for removal and violent threats against judges across digital networks from January to February 2025, the initial period of Trump’s administration.”

Beirich, the co-founder of the organization, said: “Trump’s warnings against judges have certainly fueled online vitriol at judges and calls for ouster. Targeting the courts is one more step in the administration's advance towards authoritarianism.”

Global Strongman Playbook

This progression towards authoritarianism has been well-trodden in recent years in several countries, such as by Bukele.

In several years ago, right after starting a new term despite constitutional prohibitions, Bukele’s allies in congress voted to remove the nation's top prosecutor and several justices on the constitutional court. The judges, who had provoked his ire by ruling against pandemic policies, made way for replacements hand picked by Bukele.

The move echoed Viktor Orbán’s overhaul of the nation's judiciary in 2018; the Turkish president's court cleanups in 2019; and efforts at comparable actions in the Middle Eastern state and Poland.

Undermining Court Autonomy

Experts explain that the threats and verbal assaults in the US can be viewed as efforts to weaken court autonomy in a system that provides no simple method for the president to dismiss judges the administration opposes.

Leonard, an associate professor at Illinois State University who has researched democratic decline in free nations, said the Trump administration had taken cues from the models set by strongmen abroad.

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

Citing instances such as the advisor's persistent assertions of broad presidential authority, she added: “They directly attack the courts by repeating repeatedly that it is not a equal branch in the separation of powers.

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

Leonard said: “Judges' sole safeguard is people’s belief in the legitimacy of their capacity to make those rulings. Individual threats on top of weakening institutional legitimacy may make judges think twice about decisions that go against the sitting government, which is, of course, highly concerning for judicial review and for the political system.”

Intimidation Tactics

Kim Lane Scheppele, academic of social science and global studies at Princeton University, has written about the use of “autocratic legalism” by the likes of Orbán and the Russian, and has warned about escalating threats to judges in the US.

She pointed to a wave of termed “harassment deliveries” this year, in which judges have received unwanted pizza deliveries with the recipient listed as Daniel Anderl, the son of Judge Esther Salas, who was murdered at the judge’s home in several years ago by a assailant targeting Salas.

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

“US justices are guarded by the Secret Service and the federal police. And these are dedicated police units that are placed structurally inside the federal agency. And the former AG has been leading the criticism on justices.”

Government Goals

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