The top Democrat on the Senate Judiciary Committee met with three federal judges on Wednesday over concerns about threats and the safety of the judiciary in the wake of President Trump and his allies criticizing judges who block his agenda.

Sen. Richard Durbin of Illinois met with Judge Beth Bloom of the Southern District of Florida, an Obama appointee; Judge Mark Norris of the Western District of Tennessee, a Trump appointee, and Judge Esther Salas of the District of New Jersey, an Obama appointee. Judge Salas’ son was murdered at their home in 2020 when a disgruntled lawyer posed as a deliveryman.

The meeting comes as there’s been a rise in threats to judges, according to Mr. Durbin’s office, which cited reports from The New York Times that said 197 judges have been threatened between March and May of this year.

“President Trump is openly threatening judges with over-the-top rhetoric and even calling for their impeachment for ruling against him,” Mr. Durbin said. “Just as bad: Republicans seem to be keeping quiet about – or even enabling – his threats. If President Obama or President Biden had said these things, Republicans would’ve thrown a fit.”

He said, “Americans are welcome to disagree with judicial decisions on the merits, but we must all agree that we cannot undermine our Constitution by allowing threats to the officers of our judicial branch in an attempt to weaken it.”

Mr. Durbin has called on Attorney General Pam Bondi and FBI Director Kash Patel to probe threats against judges.

The three federal judges who met with Mr. Durbin are not alone in raising concerns.

The Judicial Conference highlighted threats during a March press conference about security, funding and the need for more judgeships. The group also chastised recent calls to impeach judges over their rulings.

Judge Richard Sullivan of the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals chairs the Judicial Conference’s judicial security committee. He said technology has made threats against judges an increasing problem, and investigating them is the job of the U.S. Marshals Service.

Recently, the president has called judges who have ruled against him “monsters.”

Mr. Trump has seen more than 400 lawsuits challenging various aspects of his orders, ranging from military readiness to immigration to anti-diversity, equity and inclusion policies.

Judges also have had pizza deliveries to their private residences, which have been viewed as threats showing that their private home addresses are known.

• Alex Swoyer can be reached at aswoyer@washingtontimes.com.