Clarence Thomas Says Increased Security Needs Have Made Public Appearances More Difficult

Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas said Thursday that heightened threats against members of the judiciary have made it increasingly difficult for him to attend public events. ” Thomas said the level of security surrounding Supreme Court justices has changed dramatically since he joined the bench in 1991.

“The security concerns now are much different from the way they were when I first became a circuit justice,” Thomas said.

The comments come as the Supreme Court has increasingly sought additional resources to bolster security for justices and federal judges amid a rise in threats. Washington Examiner reported that concerns about judicial safety have intensified in recent years following politically charged rulings and growing public hostility toward members of the federal judiciary.

An armed man was arrested outside the Maryland home of Justice Brett Kavanaugh in 2022 following the leak of a draft opinion in the abortion case that overturned Roe v.

Wade. Congress approved legislation extending security protections to the immediate families of Supreme Court justices after the 2022 Kavanaugh incident. Earlier this year, Clarence Thomas was scheduled to attend an event in person at American University in Washington but switched to remote attendance due to a security risk.

Thomas has served on the Supreme Court longer than any current justice. He is the second-longest-serving justice in the Supreme Court’s history.

U.S. Marshals Service and calls from judicial officials for more congressional funding. Thomas has made similar remarks about security before.