Earlier this month, the Supreme Court held the first oral arguments of the 2025 Term.
This Term features several noteworthy cases, hitting critical topics from States’ ability to prevent boys from playing in girls’ sports, to President Trump’s ability to manage personnel in the Executive Branch, to whether federal law will continue requiring States to gerrymander their own citizens into racially segregated voting districts.
But so far, the most important news about the Term is what happened the day before the first argument. On Sunday, October 5th, the Cathedral of St. Matthew the Apostle in Washington, D.C. held the Red Mass, an important event in which a Cardinal prays for the Supreme Court as it begins its new Term.
Justices historically have attended the Red Mass. This year, however, none showed up. The reason? Heightened security concerns.
Those concerns were warranted: police discovered a 41-year-old man in a tent outside the church with over 200 explosives and a manifesto that, in the words of law enforcement, revealed “significant animosity towards the Catholic church, members of the Jewish faith, members of SCOTUS and ICE/ICE facilities.”
As I outlined recently, left-wing violence is nothing new—and sadly it is on the rise. The attempted attack on the Red Mass appears to be the latest in an ongoing string of left-wing terrorist activity. While these domestic terrorists typically seek to strike fear into the hearts of regular Americans who dare to dissent from progressive orthodoxy, in this instance the target was the Supreme Court itself.
Unfortunately, current members of the Supreme Court have had to live with the threat of radical left-wing violence for a long time.
Just a few years ago, a transgender, progressive ideologue traveled across the country to kill or kidnap several Supreme Court Justices and was arrested outside Justice Kavanaugh’s home with a handgun, ammunition, a knife, and various tools to carry out the crime. This past spring, Justice Barrett’s sister was the subject of a bomb threat, while other members of the Justice’s family faced other harassment.
And, of course, solid conservative Justices like Justice Thomas and Justice Alito cannot travel anywhere without substantial security details—and even then at great risk to their own well-being.
These attempts to harm and intimidate members of the Nation’s highest court have no end in sight. In a shocking miscarriage of justice, a judge recently sentenced Justice Kavanaugh’s would-be killer to barely over eight years imprisonment—with eligibility for parole beginning after just three years—finding that the attempted assassin’s transgender identity somehow lessened his culpability. It is hard to see how such a light slap on the wrist will do anything but encourage more acts of violence against the judiciary, particularly from those who think they can receive sympathy for their extreme political views.
Alabama has seen horrifying attacks on the judiciary up close. In December 1989, Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals Judge Robert Vance opened an unmarked package containing a bomb, which exploded and immediately killed the judge and severely injured his wife. That attack and others like it have shaken the country to its core.
As a former Alabama Supreme Court Justice, I know that protecting the judiciary is absolutely essential to protecting the rule of law. Judges make difficult decisions, and making those decisions the right way takes courage.
I know this firsthand, as there was a time when my family and I required a law enforcement security detail in the wake of a controversial opinion I wrote for the Alabama Supreme Court.
But that’s the job. However, if judges are forced to fear for their lives and families whenever they issue controversial decisions, justice and fundamental fairness will become impossible.
The rule of law is worth defending.
When I am Alabama’s chief law enforcer, protecting the safety and independence of our state’s incredible judges will be a top priority. I pledge to prosecute anyone who threatens a judge to the fullest extent of the law.
Left-wing political extremists pose a serious threat not only to the safety of our communities but also to the fundamental order of society.
As Alabama’s next Attorney General, I will ensure that the rule of law prevails so that our judges do not have to live in fear of political terrorism. And if any of the left-wing lunatics who have been attempting to harass and intimidate the Supreme Court attempt their operations from Alabama, I promise that justice will be swift.
Jay Mitchell is a nationally recognized litigator and former Alabama Supreme Court Justice. He is currently running to be the next Alabama Attorney General.
