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Donald Trump rarely accepts counsel, especially from foreign leaders who often attempt to praise and compliment the US president.

But, the Central American nation's strongman president Bukele has followed a different approach by calling on the White House to emulate his actions in impeaching what he terms “corrupt judges.”

His appeal for the president to move against the US judiciary also garnered backing from Maga figures, including an social media message by former supporter the billionaire, who has previously amplified Bukele's calls to impeach US judges.

Unprecedented Risks to Court Autonomy

Analysts note that the leader's recent remarks occur of unmatched dangers to court autonomy and individual judges in the US, and during a phase where the Trump administration is using similar strong-arm methods used by rulers in nations such as Türkiye, Hungary, India, and Bukele's own the Central American country to weaken democratic accountability.

The president's online statement last week was one more in a long series of provocations and claims he has leveled against the US's legal system, such as a spring claim that the US was “facing a court takeover,” and his mockery of a court's order to halt deportation flights sending suspected undocumented individuals to his country's harsh prison system.

Criticism on Oregon Justice

The Salvadoran's demand for removal was also made amid online criticism on the state's justice Karin Immergut by presidential advisor Miller, attorney general Pam Bondi, Elon Musk, and Trump personally in a latest press gaggle.

The judge had issued restraining orders preventing the administration from deploying the military reserves, first in the state then in California. Trump has been eager to dispatch soldiers into Portland, which the president has described as “battle-scarred” based on limited, non-violent protests outside the city's homeland security facility.

Record of Attacking Judges

Miller, Bondi, and Musk have a long record of criticizing judges who have blocked Trump's executive orders or otherwise hindered the administration's political agenda. Prior to returning to power recently, Trump urged his followers against judges overseeing his civil and criminal trials, who were then inundated with intimidation and abuse.

Monitoring groups, police departments, and the justices have highlighted a increased climate of threats and coercion in the months since he returned to the presidency.

Increasing Risk Data

Based on data collected by the US Marshals Service, in 2025 through the end of September, there were over five hundred incidents to nearly four hundred US justices, giving rise to more than eight hundred inquiries. 2025 has already surpassed 2022, and last year, and is likely to top the previous year's high of 630 reported incidents.

The dangers are not just happening at the national level. Data from the university's Bridging Divides Initiative indicates that there have been at least 59 cases of threats, targeting, stalking, or physical attacks committed against judges on the state and municipal levels in the current year.

Analyst Insights on Threat Sources

Experts say that the intimidation are a product of the language coming from senior administration figures.

In May, the watchdog group published a comprehensive report alleging that “malicious and reckless statements from Trump administration members and supporters coincide with rising violent posts on online platforms.” It noted “a 54% increase in demands for impeachment and violent threats against judges across social media platforms from the first two months 2025, the initial period of Trump’s administration.”

Heidi Beirich, the founder of the organization, said: “Trump’s warnings against judges have definitely fueled online vitriol at judges and calls for ouster. Attacking the judiciary is one more step in the administration's march towards strongman rule.”

International Strongman Playbook

That march towards authoritarianism has been well-trodden in the past decade in several nations, including by the Salvadoran.

In several years ago, right after commencing a new term in the face of legal bans, the president's allies in congress voted to remove the country’s attorney general and five justices on the supreme court. The justices, who had angered him by rejecting coronavirus measures, made way for replacements hand picked by the leader.

The move mirrored Viktor Orbán’s overhaul of Hungary’s court system several years back; the Turkish president's court cleanups recently; and attempts at comparable actions in Israel and Poland.

Weakening Court Autonomy

Experts explain that the threats 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 executive to remove judges Trump opposes.

Meghan Leonard, an associate professor at the university who has researched democratic decline in democracies, said the White House had taken cues from the models set by authoritarians abroad.

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

Citing examples such as the advisor's relentless assertions of broad executive power, she noted: “They directly attack the judiciary by stating over and over that it is not a equal branch in the government structure.

“They continue to redefine the debate by repeating their claim that the executive has greater authority than this judicial branch, which is not how separation powers work.”

Leonard said: “Justices' sole safeguard is public trust in the authority of their ability to make those decisions. Individual threats on top of weakening institutional legitimacy may make judges think twice about judgments that go against the sitting government, which is, of course, highly concerning for judicial review and for the political system.”

Coercion Methods

Scheppele, professor of sociology and global studies at Princeton University, has documented the use of “autocratic legalism” by the likes of Orbán and Putin, and has spoken out about escalating threats to judges in the US.

She highlighted a series of termed “pizza doxxings” this year, in which judges have received unsolicited food orders with the customer listed as Daniel Anderl, the child of Justice Salas, who was murdered at the judge’s home in 2020 by a assailant aiming at Salas.

“All understands what it means. ‘We know where you live. You are a target,’” the professor said.

“US justices are guarded by the Secret Service and the federal police. And these are specialized law enforcement that sit institutionally inside the federal agency. And the former AG has been spearheading the attacks on federal judges.”

Administration Aims

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