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Donald Trump rarely accepts guidance, especially from international figures who often attempt to flatter and admire the American leader.

But, the Central American nation's authoritarian leader Nayib Bukele has followed a distinct strategy by calling on the White House to emulate his actions in removing what he terms “corrupt judges.”

The call for Trump to take action against the US judiciary also garnered backing from Maga figures, such as an social media message by former close Trump ally the billionaire, who has previously boosted the Salvadoran's demands to oust US judges.

Growing Risks to Court Autonomy

Experts say that the leader's recent remarks occur of unmatched dangers to judicial independence and specific justices in the United States, and during a phase where the Trump administration is employing similar authoritarian methods employed by leaders in countries such as Türkiye, Hungary, India, and his native El Salvador to undermine democratic accountability.

The president's online call recently was just the latest in a long series of provocations and allegations he has leveled against the American judiciary, such as a spring assertion that the US was “facing a judicial coup,” and his mockery of a court's order to halt deportation flights sending accused undocumented individuals to his nation's brutal prison system.

Criticism on Oregon Justice

Bukele's impeachment call was also made during social media attacks on Oregon federal judge Karin Immergut by presidential advisor Miller, former AG Bondi, Elon Musk, and the president himself in a recent media briefing.

Immergut had ordered restraining orders blocking the administration from deploying the military reserves, first in the state then in California. The president has been pushing to dispatch soldiers into Portland, which the president has characterized as “battle-scarred” based on limited, peaceful protests outside the urban federal building.

History of Attacking Justices

The advisor, Bondi, and Musk have a history of attacking judges who have blocked presidential directives or in other ways hindered the government's policy goals. Prior to resuming office recently, Trump urged his followers against judges presiding over his legal cases, who were then deluged with threats and harassment.

Monitoring groups, police departments, and judges themselves have pointed to a increased climate of risks and intimidation in the period since he returned to the White House.

Rising Risk Data

Based on information gathered by the federal agency, in 2025 through the end of September, there were 562 incidents to 395 US justices, giving rise to more than eight hundred investigations. This year has already eclipsed the first recorded year, and 2024, and is on track to exceed the previous year's record of 630 reported incidents.

The dangers are not only happening at the federal level. Information by the university's Bridging Divides Initiative shows that there have been at least 59 instances of intimidation, targeting, stalking, or violence directed against judges on the local level in 2025.

Expert Insights on Threat Sources

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

In spring, the Global Project Against Hate and Extremism (GPAHE) published a detailed report claiming that “harmful and reckless statements from White House allies and supporters align with rising violent posts on online platforms.” It noted “a fifty-four percent rise in calls for impeachment and violent threats against judges across digital networks from January to February of this year, the initial period of the president's term.”

Heidi Beirich, the founder of GPAHE, said: “The president's warnings against judges have definitely driven digital abuse at judges and demands for ouster. Attacking the judiciary is one more step in Trump’s march towards strongman rule.”

International Authoritarian Playbook

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

In several years ago, immediately after commencing a new term in the face of constitutional prohibitions, Bukele’s parliamentary loyalists voted to dismiss the country’s attorney general and five judges on the constitutional court. The judges, who had provoked his ire by rejecting pandemic policies, were replaced by new appointees hand picked by Bukele.

The move mirrored the Hungarian leader's remodeling of Hungary’s court system several years back; Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s court cleanups recently; and efforts at similar moves in the Middle Eastern state and Poland.

Undermining Judicial Independence

Experts say that the threats and rhetorical attacks in the US can be seen as efforts to weaken judicial independence in a structure that provides no simple method for the executive to dismiss judges Trump opposes.

Leonard, an associate professor at the university who has researched democratic decline in democracies, said the Trump administration had taken cues from the examples set by authoritarians abroad.

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

Pointing to instances such as Miller’s relentless assertions of broad presidential authority, she added: “They openly criticize the judiciary by stating repeatedly that it is not a equal branch in the government structure.

“They persist in 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: “Judges' only protection is people’s belief in the legitimacy of their capacity to make those decisions. Personal intimidation on top of weakening trust in courts may make judges hesitate about judgments that go against the current administration, which is, of course, highly concerning for court oversight and for the political system.”

Intimidation Tactics

Kim Lane Scheppele, professor of sociology and global studies at Princeton University, has written about the use of “authoritarian law” by the likes of Orbán and Putin, and has spoken out about rising dangers to judges in the US.

She pointed to a series of so-called “pizza doxxings” recently, in which judges have received unwanted pizza deliveries with the recipient listed as Daniel Anderl, the son of Justice Salas, who was murdered at the judge’s home in several years ago by a gunman targeting Salas.

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

“US justices are protected by the Secret Service and the Marshals Service. And those are both specialized police units that sit institutionally inside the federal agency. And the former AG has been leading the criticism on federal judges.”

Administration Aims

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