Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Ill., is asking the Department of Justice to investigate a series of anonymous pizza deliveries made to the homes of federal judges over the past month, warning they are attempts to intimidate the judges, the Washington Post first reported on Tuesday.
Durbin, who is set to retire at the end of his term after 44 years in Congress, sent a letter to Attorney General Pam Bondi and FBI director Kash Patel seeking answers as to how many anonymous or pseudonymous delivers have been made to judges or their families since the beginning of the Trump administration.
Some of the pizzas have reportedly been delivered to the homes of judges overseeing cases against the administration. While not swatting in the traditional sense, sending anonymous pizzas can be considered a lower form of harassment and intimidation. Swatting is a term used when fake threats are called into police with the implicit intention of creating an escalating situation with first responders.
“In the past few months, this administration and its supporters have repeatedly attacked individual federal judges by name. Simply because they had to audacity to rule against President Trump,” Durbin said in Senate Judiciary Committee hearing on Monday.
In 2020, Daniel Anderl was fatally shot by an attorney who posed as a delivery person. Anderl is the son of U.S. District Judge Esther Salas. Her husband Mark Anderl was seriously wounded in the attack.
“Recently hundreds, hundreds of pizzas have been delivered to the homes of judges and their families. Including at least ten sent in the name of Daniel Anderl. The murdered son of judge Salas. Subtle, right? These judges who have received pizzas are presiding over legal challenges to Trump administration actions,” Durbin said.
Judge Salas said the goal of the deliveries is to signal, ” ‘I know where you live. I know where your kids live and do you want to end up like Judge Salas? You want to end up like her son?’ “
Durbin’s letter stressed the importance of maintaining or increasing the number of agents within the Federal Marshalls who are tasked with protecting federal judges and courthouses. The Senator noted that at the request of DOGE, the acting director of the Marshall Service is seeking to downsize the agency. “It is inappropriate and unacceptable to reduce the size of the agency tasked with protecting the federal judiciary and the judicial process,” Durbin wrote.
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