As federal judges face an increase in threats, CBS News has learned that some jurists have experienced strange, unsettling incidents in which an unknown person orders pizza to their home address in an apparent attempt to intimidate them.
The top federal prosecutor in Washington, D.C., referred to the incidents as “pizza doxxing” — a spin on “doxxing,” in which someone’s address or other personal information is maliciously made public, often as a form of intimidation.
In about two dozen cases across the country, judges have received unsolicited pizza deliveries addressed to Daniel Anderl, the late son of U.S. District Judge Esther Salas, the New Jersey judge told CBS News. In 2020, a disgruntled gunman killed Anderl at the family’s New Jersey home while targeting Salas.
Salas described the cases as attempts at “psychological warfare” against judges.
Salas claims the perpetrators have not been identified. She intends to meet with officials from the United States Marshals Service on Thursday to discuss the threats.
A US Marshals Service official told CBS News that the agency, which handles judicial security, is “looking into all of the unsolicited pizza deliveries to federal judges and taking appropriate steps to address the matter.”
During a news conference Tuesday, Ed Martin, the outgoing United States Attorney for Washington, D.C., said “pizza doxxers” are also a focus of the federal prosecutor’s office in the nation’s capital, which is home to a large number of federal judges.
Former FBI agent Mike Clark, who heads the Society of Retired FBI Agents, told CBS News that the incidents appear to be intended to send a threatening and menacing message to judges.
“To do this invites tragedy and something terrible to occur. Clark said, “They’re mocking the justice system and playing a dangerous game.”
Security analysts have previously warned that “pizza doxxing” — or hoax deliveries — could be used to lure a public official to their front door in order to confirm their address for a potential future attack.
Threats against judges have increased in recent years, reflecting a broader trend for public officials. The US Marshals Service recorded more than 450 threats against federal judges in 2023, up more than 300 from 2019, and threats against prosecutors increased at a rapid rate during the same period, CBS News previously reported.
In a separate interview with CBS News in March, Salas stated, “I worry for judicial officers who have to make difficult decisions that may be unpopular with some people.” She additionally focused on “the inflammatory rhetoric and language that’s coming from both our leaders as well as people in positions of power that have large platforms.”
“Those are dangerous combinations, because … we don’t know what might set someone off,” she told me. “I am living proof.” My son is not here anymore.”