The federal judge who acted first to block President Donald Trump’s most recent travel ban has received numerous death threats since the ruling, prompting authorities to give him a 24-hour protection detail, according to a report.
U.S. District Judge Derrick Watson, who presides over cases in Hawaii, blocked Trump’s revised travel ban last week. He rejected the government’s claims that the ban was imperative to national security and not a form of religious discrimination.
Several threats have been made against Watson in the wake of his March 15 ruling, Hawaii News Now reported. The U.S. Marshals Service has flown in about a dozen marshals to protect him around the clock, according to the news station.
FBI officials told Hawaii News Now that authorities are aware of the threats but declined to provide details on their nature or form.
Trump called Watson’s ruling an example of “unprecedented judicial overreach” and said his administration would appeal it to the U.S. Supreme Court.
