The Colorado Supreme Court’s historic 2023 decision to bar Donald Trump from the state’s presidential primary ballot unleashed not just a political firestorm—but a wave of threats that spilled into the private lives of the justices who signed it.
Chief Justice Monica Márquez revealed this week that she and her colleagues endured a campaign of intimidation that stretched far beyond angry emails. The ruling, which held Trump ineligible under the Constitution’s 14th Amendment over his role in the January 6th Capitol attack, set off months of hostility that reached into their homes.
During a virtual forum titled Speak Up for Justice, Márquez said the backlash went well past words. Justices were “swatted”—their homes targeted by hoax emergency calls that triggered armed police raids in the dead of night. In one case, nine officers stormed a justice’s residence, flashlights cutting across walls, weapons drawn. “These can be terrifying,” she admitted, recalling how colleagues were advised to leave their homes for safety.
The harassment became bizarre as well as dangerous: family members received unwanted pizza deliveries meant to remind them they were being watched. Justices were doxxed, bombarded with racist and misogynistic abuse, even signed up for pornographic subscriptions against their will.
Though divided 4-3, the Colorado court’s decision was short-lived. By March 2024, the U.S. Supreme Court overturned it, clearing Trump’s path back onto every ballot and, eventually, back into the White House. But the ruling’s aftershocks—felt in threats, harassment, and a chilling atmosphere for the judiciary—linger.
Márquez warned that fear-driven judging would hollow out the very foundation of the courts: “If our decisions stop being based on law and facts, and instead on fear for our families, the system begins to unravel.”
No charges have been brought in the string of threats, swatting incidents, and harassment campaigns. Yet, as political violence escalates nationwide—including the recent assassination of conservative activist Charlie Kirk—the Colorado episode stands as a stark reminder: in today’s America, the gavel often carries a target.
