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The US President does not usually take advice, particularly from foreign leaders who frequently seek to flatter and compliment the American leader.

But, the Central American nation's authoritarian leader Bukele has followed a different strategy by calling on the Trump administration to follow his example in impeaching what he terms “corrupt judges.”

His appeal for Trump to take action against the American court system also garnered support from Trump allies, including an social media message by former supporter Elon Musk, who has in the past boosted Bukele's demands to impeach US judges.

Unprecedented Risks to Judicial Independence

Analysts say that Bukele's recent intervention come at a time of unmatched threats to court autonomy and individual judges in the US, and during a phase where the Trump administration is using comparable strong-arm tactics used by rulers in nations such as Türkiye, the European state, India, and Bukele's own El Salvador to weaken democratic accountability.

Bukele's social media statement recently was just the latest in a string of provocations and claims he has made against the American judiciary, including a spring claim that the US was “experiencing a court takeover,” and ridicule of a federal judge's ruling to stop deportation flights sending accused undocumented individuals to his nation's harsh prison system.

Attacks on Oregon Justice

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

The judge had ordered restraining orders blocking Trump from mobilizing the military reserves, first in Oregon then in California. Trump has been eager to send 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.

History of Attacking Justices

The advisor, the former AG, and Musk have a history of criticizing judges who have ruled against Trump's executive orders or otherwise impeded the administration's political agenda. Prior to returning to power this year, the president directed his followers against judges presiding over his legal cases, who were then deluged with intimidation and abuse.

Watchdog organizations, police departments, and the justices have pointed to a increased atmosphere of risks and intimidation in the months since he re-entered the presidency.

Rising Threat Statistics

According to data gathered by the federal agency, in the current year through the third quarter, there were over five hundred threats to nearly four hundred US justices, leading to more than eight hundred investigations. This year has already surpassed the first recorded year, and 2024, and is on track to top the previous year's record of 630 threats.

The dangers are not only happening at the federal level. Information by Princeton's research project indicates that there have been at least 59 instances of threats, harassment, stalking, or physical attacks directed against judges on the state and municipal levels in 2025.

Expert Insights on Root Causes

Specialists state that the intimidation are a product of the rhetoric coming from top government officials.

In spring, the watchdog group published a detailed report alleging that “malicious and reckless statements from White House allies and allies align with escalating violent posts on online platforms.” It recorded “a 54% increase in calls for impeachment and physical intimidation against judges across digital networks from the first two months 2025, the initial period of Trump’s administration.”

Heidi Beirich, the co-founder of GPAHE, said: “The president's warnings against judges have certainly fueled digital abuse at judges and demands for impeachment. Targeting the judiciary is one more step in Trump’s march towards authoritarianism.”

International Strongman Playbook

That march towards autocracy has been common in recent years in several nations, such as by the Salvadoran.

In several years ago, immediately after starting a new term in the face of constitutional prohibitions, the president's allies in congress voted to dismiss the nation's top prosecutor and five justices on the supreme court. The judges, who had angered him by ruling against coronavirus measures, made way for replacements selected by Bukele.

The move echoed the Hungarian leader's overhaul of Hungary’s court system several years back; the Turkish president's judicial purges recently; and efforts at comparable actions in Israel and the European country.

Undermining Court Autonomy

Analysts explain that the threats and rhetorical attacks in the US can be viewed as efforts to weaken judicial independence in a system that offers no easy way for the executive to remove judges the administration opposes.

Meghan Leonard, an associate professor at the university who has researched authoritarian backsliding in free nations, said the White House had learned from the examples set by strongmen overseas.

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

Citing instances such as the advisor's persistent assertions of broad presidential authority, she added: “They openly attack the judiciary by repeating over and over that it is not a equal branch in the separation of powers.

“They continue to reframe the discussion by repeating their argument that the president has greater authority than this judicial branch, which is not how checks and balances work.”

The professor said: “Judges' only protection is people’s belief in the authority of their ability to make those rulings. Individual threats on top of weakening trust in courts may make judges think twice about decisions that go against the sitting government, which is, of course, highly concerning for court oversight and for democracy.”

Intimidation Tactics

Scheppele, professor of social science and international affairs at the Ivy League school, has written about the use of “authoritarian law” by the likes of Orbán and the Russian, and has warned about rising threats to judges in the US.

She pointed to a series of so-called “harassment deliveries” this year, in which judges have received unwanted pizza deliveries with the recipient listed as a name, the son of Justice Salas, who was killed at the judge’s home in 2020 by a assailant aiming at the judge.

“All knows what it means. ‘Your address is known. We’re coming for you,’” the professor said.

“Federal judges are guarded by the presidential protection and the federal police. And these are specialized police units that are placed institutionally inside the federal agency. And the former AG has been leading the attacks on federal judges.”

Government Goals

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