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The US President does not usually take counsel, particularly from international figures who frequently attempt to praise and compliment the American leader.

But, the Central American nation's strongman president Nayib Bukele has followed a different strategy by calling on the Trump administration to emulate his actions in impeaching so-called “corrupt judges.”

His appeal for Trump to move against the US judiciary also garnered support from Maga figures, such as an social media message by one-time supporter Elon Musk, who has in the past boosted Bukele's demands to oust US judges.

Unprecedented Threats to Judicial Independence

Experts note that Bukele's latest intervention come at a time of unprecedented threats to court autonomy and individual judges in the US, and during a period where the Trump administration is using similar authoritarian tactics employed by leaders in countries such as Turkey, Hungary, India, and his native El Salvador to weaken democratic accountability.

The president's social media statement last week was just the latest in a string of provocations and claims he has leveled against the American judiciary, such as a spring assertion that the US was “facing a judicial coup,” and ridicule of a federal judge's ruling to stop deportation flights sending suspected undocumented individuals to his nation's harsh correctional facilities.

Criticism on Federal Judge

The Salvadoran's impeachment call was also issued amid social media attacks on Oregon federal judge Karin Immergut by presidential advisor Stephen Miller, former AG Pam Bondi, Elon Musk, and the president personally in a recent media briefing.

Immergut had ordered injunctions preventing Trump from mobilizing the national guard, first in the state then in California. The president has been eager to dispatch troops into the city, which the leader has described as “battle-scarred” based on small, non-violent protests outside the city's homeland security facility.

Record of Targeting Judges

The advisor, the former AG, and the entrepreneur have a long record of attacking judges who have blocked Trump's executive orders or otherwise hindered the administration's policy goals. Before returning to power this year, the president urged his followers against judges presiding over his legal cases, who were then inundated with threats and abuse.

Monitoring groups, law enforcement agencies, and the justices have highlighted a increased climate of threats and intimidation in the months since he re-entered the presidency.

Increasing Risk Data

Based on data gathered by the federal agency, in the current year through the third quarter, there were over five hundred incidents to 395 federal judges, giving rise to more than eight hundred investigations. 2025 has already eclipsed 2022, and last year, and is likely to exceed the previous year's record of over six hundred threats.

The dangers are not only happening at the federal level. Data from Princeton's research project indicates that there have been at least 59 instances of intimidation, harassment, stalking, or physical attacks directed against judges on the local level in the current year.

Analyst Analysis on Threat Sources

Experts say that the threats are a result of the language coming from senior administration figures.

In spring, the Global Project Against Hate and Extremism (GPAHE) published a detailed report alleging that “malicious and reckless statements from Trump administration members and supporters align with escalating aggressive posts on social media.” It recorded “a 54% increase in demands for impeachment and physical intimidation against judges across digital networks from January to February of this year, the first full month of the president's term.”

Beirich, the co-founder of GPAHE, said: “Trump’s warnings against judges have certainly driven digital abuse at judges and demands for ouster. Targeting the judiciary is another move in the administration's advance towards authoritarianism.”

Global Strongman Tactics

This progression towards autocracy has been common in the past decade in several nations, including by the Salvadoran.

In 2021, right after starting a new term in the face of legal bans, Bukele’s allies in congress voted to remove the country’s attorney general and several judges on the constitutional court. The judges, who had provoked his ire by ruling against coronavirus measures, made way for new appointees hand picked by Bukele.

The action echoed Viktor Orbán’s remodeling of the nation's judiciary several years back; Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s court cleanups in 2019; and attempts at similar moves in Israel and Poland.

Weakening Court Autonomy

Analysts say that the threats and rhetorical attacks in the US can be viewed as attempts to weaken court autonomy in a system that provides no simple method for the executive to remove judges the administration disapproves of.

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

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

Pointing to instances such as the advisor's relentless claims of broad presidential authority, she added: “They directly attack the courts by stating over and over that it is not a equal branch in the government structure.

“They continue to redefine the discussion by emphasizing their argument that the president has greater authority than this other co-equal branch, which is not how separation powers work.”

The professor said: “Justices' only protection is public trust in the legitimacy of their ability to make those decisions. Personal intimidation on top of weakening institutional legitimacy may make judges think twice about decisions that go against the sitting government, which is, of course, highly concerning for judicial review and for democracy.”

Intimidation Tactics

Kim Lane Scheppele, academic of sociology and international affairs at Princeton University, has written about the use of “authoritarian law” by the such as Orbán and the Russian, and has spoken out about escalating threats to judges in the US.

She highlighted a series of termed “pizza doxxings” recently, in which judges have received unsolicited pizza deliveries with the customer listed as Daniel Anderl, the child of Justice Salas, who was murdered at the judge’s home in several years ago by a assailant targeting the judge.

“All understands what it means. ‘We know where you live. We’re coming for you,’” the professor said.

“US justices are guarded by the Secret Service and the federal police. And these are specialized police units that sit structurally inside the federal agency. And Pam Bondi has been spearheading the criticism on federal judges.”

Government Goals

Regarding the administration’s objectives, Scheppele said that “impeaching a federal judge is highly not going to happen because it’s so hard to do. {Right now|Currently