Supreme Court Justice Amy Coney Barrett revealed new details Tuesday about a swatting incident at her Virginia home, telling lawmakers the growing wave of threats against members of the nation's highest court has had a profound impact on her family and underscored the need for increased security.
Appearing before a House appropriations subcommittee alongside Justice Elena Kagan, Barrett described what it has been like raising seven children while living under heightened security. The hearing marked the first time a sitting Supreme Court justice has testified before Congress since 2019.
Threats against the Court increased 25 percent last year and are expected to climb another 38 percent this year, the justices told lawmakers, with security costs driving much of the Court's request for additional funding.
"Those statistics sound abstract, but being on the receiving end of them is not," Barrett said.
She recalled bringing home a bulletproof vest after the leak of the Dobbs draft opinion in 2022, only to have her 12-year-old son ask why she needed it.
"I didn't know how to respond," Barrett said. "I didn't expect that performing this service was going to put me in the position of explaining to my children what a bulletproof vest was and why I had to wear one."
Barrett also spoke publicly for the first time about a swatting attempt at her home in May. She said one of her teenage sons opened the front door to leave with friends and found the street lined with police vehicles responding to a false report of gunfire and raised voices inside the home.
The situation could have ended much differently, Barrett said, were it not for the Supreme Court Police stationed outside her residence.
"I was very, very grateful that I had Supreme Court police outside my home because they were able to stop and meet with and explain to the county police that it had been a false alarm," she said. As a result, local officers never attempted to enter the home.
Fairfax County police confirmed the incident last month, saying officers responded to a false emergency call involving the residence of a U.S. Supreme Court justice. After coordinating with Supreme Court Police already assigned to the home, officers quickly determined the report was fictitious and no additional resources were needed.
Swatting — making a false emergency call to trigger an armed police response — has increasingly been used to target public officials, judges, members of Congress and other high-profile figures.
Barrett said the harassment extends beyond false emergency calls. She told lawmakers that she and other justices have received anonymous packages meant to intimidate them, many sent in the name of Daniel Anderl, the son of U.S. District Judge Esther Salas, who was killed in a targeted attack at the family's New Jersey home in 2020.
"I think the message on these deliveries being sent in his name is clear," Barrett said.
Kagan told the panel the Court is seeking an additional $14 million for salaries and expenses in fiscal year 2027, a 7 percent increase from the previous year. Nearly all of the Court's budget growth over the past five years, she said, has been tied to expanding security needs.
"Our strategy has been consistent across security functions: expand incrementally but effectively to meet evolving security challenges," Kagan said.
Security concerns surrounding the Supreme Court have intensified since the leak of the Dobbs opinion in 2022, which prompted demonstrations outside the homes of several conservative justices. That same year, a California man traveled to Justice Brett Kavanaugh's home intending to kill him before calling 911 on himself and surrendering to police. He was later sentenced to eight years in prison.
Despite the increasingly hostile environment, both justices stressed that members of the Court remain committed to carrying out their duties without intimidation.
