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Donald Trump rarely accepts counsel, especially from foreign leaders who frequently attempt to flatter and compliment the American leader.

However, El Salvador's authoritarian leader Bukele has adopted a different approach by urging the Trump administration to emulate his actions in removing so-called “dishonest judges.”

His appeal for Trump to move against the US judiciary also garnered backing from Trump allies, such as an X post by one-time close Trump ally the billionaire, who has previously amplified the Salvadoran's demands to oust US judges.

Growing Threats to Court Autonomy

Analysts say that Bukele's latest intervention come at a time of unprecedented dangers to judicial independence and specific justices in the United States, and during a phase where the Trump administration is employing comparable strong-arm methods used by leaders in countries such as Turkey, the European state, India, and his native the Central American country to weaken government oversight.

Bukele's social media call recently was one more in a string of provocations and allegations he has leveled against the US's legal system, such as a March claim that the US was “facing a judicial coup,” and his mockery of a court's order to halt deportation flights sending suspected illegal immigrants to his country's brutal correctional facilities.

Criticism on Federal Judge

The Salvadoran's impeachment call was also issued during online attacks on the state's federal judge Judge Immergut by presidential advisor Miller, former AG Pam Bondi, Elon Musk, and Trump himself in a latest media briefing.

Immergut had issued restraining orders preventing the administration from mobilizing the national guard, initially in Oregon then in California. The president has been eager to send troops into Portland, which the leader has described as “battle-scarred” based on limited, peaceful protests outside the urban federal building.

History of Targeting Justices

Miller, the former AG, and Musk have a history of criticizing judges who have blocked presidential directives or otherwise impeded the government's policy goals. Before resuming office this year, Trump urged his supporters against judges overseeing his civil and criminal trials, who were then deluged with threats and abuse.

Watchdog organizations, police departments, and judges themselves have pointed to a increased climate of risks and coercion in the months since he returned to the presidency.

Increasing Risk Data

According to information collected by the US Marshals Service, in the current year through the end of September, there were 562 threats to 395 federal judges, giving rise to 805 investigations. This year has already eclipsed 2022, and 2024, and is on track to top 2023's record of 630 threats.

The threats are not just happening at the national level. Data from the university's research project shows that there have been at least 59 instances of intimidation, targeting, surveillance, or physical attacks committed against judges on the state and municipal levels in 2025.

Expert Insights on Root Causes

Experts say that the intimidation are a result of the rhetoric coming from top government officials.

In May, the watchdog group published a comprehensive report alleging that “malicious and highly irresponsible statements from White House allies and supporters coincide with rising aggressive posts on social media.” It noted “a 54% rise in demands for removal and physical intimidation against judges across social media platforms from the first two months 2025, the first full month of the president's term.”

Beirich, the founder of GPAHE, said: “The president's warnings against judges have certainly fueled online vitriol at judges and calls for impeachment. Targeting the judiciary is one more step in Trump’s advance towards authoritarianism.”

Global Strongman Tactics

That march towards autocracy has been common in the past decade in multiple nations, including by Bukele.

In 2021, immediately after starting a second term despite constitutional prohibitions, the president's allies in congress voted to dismiss the country’s top prosecutor and five justices on the constitutional court. The judges, who had angered him by rejecting pandemic policies, were replaced by replacements hand picked by Bukele.

The move echoed the Hungarian leader's overhaul of the nation's judiciary several years back; Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s court cleanups recently; and attempts at comparable actions in the Middle Eastern state and the European country.

Weakening Judicial Independence

Analysts say that the intimidation and rhetorical attacks in the US can be viewed as efforts to weaken judicial independence in a system that provides no simple method for the executive to dismiss judges Trump disapproves of.

Meghan Leonard, an associate professor at the university who has researched democratic decline in free nations, said the Trump administration had taken cues from the examples set by authoritarians abroad.

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

Pointing to instances such as Miller’s persistent assertions of nearly limitless presidential authority, she noted: “They directly attack the judiciary by repeating repeatedly that it is not a equal branch in the separation of powers.

“They continue to redefine the debate by repeating their argument that the executive has more power than this other co-equal branch, which is not how checks and balances work.”

The professor said: “Justices' only protection is public trust in the authority of their capacity to make those rulings. Individual threats on top of eroding institutional legitimacy may make judges think twice about judgments that go against the current administration, which is, of course, highly concerning for court oversight and for democracy.”

Intimidation Tactics

Kim Lane Scheppele, professor of social science and global studies at the Ivy League school, has documented the use of “authoritarian law” by the likes of Orbán and Putin, and has warned about escalating threats to judges in the US.

She pointed to a wave of so-called “pizza doxxings” recently, in which judges have received unsolicited food orders with the customer listed as Daniel Anderl, the son of Justice Salas, who was murdered at the residence in 2020 by a gunman aiming at Salas.

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

“US justices are guarded by the Secret Service and the Marshals Service. And these are specialized police units that sit structurally inside the Department of Justice. And the former AG has been leading the criticism on federal judges.”

Government Goals

On the administration’s aims, Scheppele said that “removing a US justice is highly not going to happen because it’s very difficult to do. {Right now|Currently